9th Circuit Blocks DOJ From Isolating 20,000 California Ballots

A federal appeals court blocked the Justice Department from forcing California to separate disputed ballots ahead of the midterm election.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued the decision on Friday in a 2-1 vote. This ruling prevents federal officials from demanding that state workers isolate approximately 20,000 ballots received from individuals the federal government believes may not be U.S. citizens.

The Trump administration argues that counting these votes dilutes the voice of verified citizens. California officials counter that the federal list is unreliable and likely includes many naturalized citizens. A district court judge previously rejected the federal request, warning that separating ballots could strip citizens of their right to vote.

Judge Mark J. Bennett, appointed by President Donald Trump, and Judge Gabriel P. Sanchez, appointed by former President Joe Biden, wrote the majority opinion. They stated that no viable method exists to identify and separate specific ballots without causing potentially catastrophic effects on the electoral system.

The dispute is the latest legal challenge between the federal government and the state before voters head to the polls on Tuesday. Millions of Californians have already cast their ballots. Election officials note that processed votes are fully anonymized and cannot be traced back to the voters who submitted them.

The Justice Department has not yet responded to requests for comment on the appellate decision. The case fits into a wider pattern of federal scrutiny over local elections. The administration has also issued subpoenas in Alaska regarding a candidate dispute and sent a list of alleged noncitizen voters to Washington state officials.

In a related move, a federal judge in Washington ordered the Trump administration to share the disputed list of 20,000 names with legal teams. The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and the UCLA Voting Rights Project will receive the data. This will allow outside groups to examine the list for the first time and assess its impact on registered voters.

Xavier Becerra, the Democratic candidate for governor, serves as an advisor to the UCLA Voting Rights Project. In early October, these groups sued the Department of Homeland Security. They argued that federal immigration data used to challenge state voter rolls often contains errors that exclude thousands of citizens.

A separate legal battle involves election workers. A coalition of unions, including the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, filed a suit on Friday. They seek a temporary injunction to stop the Justice Department from requiring local officials to halt ballot counting. The unions also want to stop federal threats of criminal prosecution against workers who do not comply.

Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, warned that any election official who knowingly processes a noncitizen ballot faces legal trouble. The Associated Press obtained subpoenas issued to Los Angeles County election officials on Thursday. These documents request records related to federal letters sent in July and October. The subpoenas also seek information on efforts to prevent noncitizen votes from being counted.

At least three Los Angeles County election officials have been asked to appear before a grand jury on November 4. That date falls the day after the midterm election. It is unclear if the Justice Department intends to file criminal charges against any official. The department rarely subpoenas individuals who are targets of a criminal investigation.