Judge Blocks Move to Withhold 20,000 California Ballots
The Trump administration said it would appeal after a federal judge denied its request to set aside ballots flagged as possibly belonging to non-citizens.
By David Marshall ·
A federal judge denied the Trump administration's request to withhold 20,000 mail-in ballots in California, ruling that setting them aside would disrupt an election already underway. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter wrote that the request "would wreak havoc and disrupt the election that is already underway, create a chilling effect on election workers and voters alike, and discount the votes of United States citizens."
The administration filed suit asking the district court to hold back the ballots of people it believes are likely non-citizens. Carter addressed the evidentiary basis in his ruling: "Eroded trust in our democracy is irreparable. Once a vote is segregated, lasting harm has occurred," he wrote. "If the Executive can discount votes and threaten an ongoing election due to unproven allegations, then our democracy is in danger. This Court declines to be a party to such process."
Early voting in California is already running. About 500,000 ballots were processed this week, and election officials have said separating any individual ballot from its voter would be nearly impossible at this stage. Election Day is less than a week away.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli continued to defend the lawsuit after the ruling. "Every day, more ballots are processed by election officials," Essayli wrote on social media Wednesday. "This ongoing emergency disenfranchises American citizens through dilution."
The case is part of a series of filings the administration has brought in recent weeks. The Department of Justice asked Washington state this week to withhold 400 ballots over non-citizen voting concerns, and it has sued Alaska to prevent certification of results if the Republican candidate does not win. Neither the Washington nor the California filing includes proof that the voters identified are non-citizens.
The Trump administration has said it will appeal Carter's ruling. An appeals court previously declined to take up the case because Carter had not yet issued his decision; that court expressed skepticism toward the administration's arguments.
