Appeals Court Again Rejects Trump Bid to Separate California Ballots

The dispute concerns the Trump administration's effort to make California set aside ballots from more than 20,000 people it alleges might be noncitizens, according to NBC News. That is an allegation, not an established finding about those voters' citizenship.

The administration wanted the ballots separated until they could be verified, The Hill reported. The Justice Department's request concerned ballots received in the midterm election, according to CBS Top Stories.

The administration had already been refused once before Friday's decision. The LA Times described the October 30 ruling as the second time the federal appeals court denied its request to block the ballots. The supplied coverage does not date that earlier rejection.

On October 30, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Justice Department's request to have California set aside the disputed ballots, CBS Top Stories reported.

The panel divided two to one. According to NYT Politics, the majority declined to order the state to separate more than 20,000 mail-in ballots, calling the proposed action plainly unconstitutional.

The latest ruling means federal officials cannot stop California from processing the more than 20,000 ballots at issue, according to the New York Post.

The decision rejects the administration's requested intervention. The supplied reporting does not establish that the people whose ballots were challenged are noncitizens.

The next question is whether the dispute reaches the Supreme Court. The Independent reported that a confrontation there appeared imminent and that the appeals court warned the administration's effort could jeopardize the midterm elections. The supplied coverage does not report a Supreme Court decision.