Appeals Court Rejects Trump Administration Bid to Separate California Ballots

The Justice Department sued California seeking verification of more than 20,000 people it suspects are noncitizens on the state's voter rolls before related ballots are counted. California disputes the accuracy of the federal list, according to Mint.

The distinction matters: the administration's allegations do not establish that everyone on its list is a noncitizen or has cast a ballot. The requested intervention concerns mail ballots associated with people whose eligibility the department questions.

On October 23, the Justice Department asked an appeals court to intervene in its lawsuit and prevent California from counting as many as 20,000 mail ballots it claimed had been sent to noncitizens, NYT Politics reported.

On October 24, federal prosecutors also pressed county election officials directly. Letters demanded that registrars set aside and verify ballots the department said might belong to noncitizens, according to CBS Top Stories. Officials who failed to cooperate were warned that they risked "significant federal scrutiny," The New York Times reported.

California resisted. Yahoo News reported on October 24 that the state was refusing the demand to set aside ballots, and that the department warned officials who counted them could face criminal charges. California's attorney general publicly rebuked the federal effort on October 25, according to The Guardian.

At a Sunday hearing on October 25, appellate judges questioned the timing, constitutionality and authority of the department's demand, The Independent reported. The panel appeared reluctant to order the ballots separated, according to The Hill.

On October 26, the appeals panel rejected the emergency request in a 2-1 decision. The Hill reported that the panel found it lacked jurisdiction. ABC News reported that the suit was sent back to a district court for a Tuesday hearing.

The administration has not obtained the emergency appeals court order it sought to force California to separate the disputed ballots. The ruling concerns that request, not a final determination of the citizenship or voting eligibility of everyone on the federal list. The underlying lawsuit remains before the district court, according to ABC News.

A separate criminal development has also been reported. On October 26, the New York Post reported federal charges against 28 alleged noncitizen voters and arrests across California. That report does not establish the administration's broader claims about the roughly 20,000 people at issue in the civil ballot dispute.

The federal effort has expanded beyond California. On October 27, NBC News reported that the Justice Department asked Washington state to set aside 400 ballots from voters it says may be noncitizens.

The next scheduled step is the district court hearing on Tuesday, October 27, reported by ABC News. The supplied coverage does not include an outcome. The questions remain whether the department can substantiate its list and obtain an order requiring California to separate ballots.

Washington's response is another pending development. The demand reported by NBC News shows the administration pursuing a similar approach in another state, but the supplied coverage does not establish how state officials will respond.