Judge rejects Trump administration request for order to segregate 20,000 California ballots

Judge cites election disruption

The federal judge rejected the Justice Department’s bid to make California set aside ballots associated with people the administration alleges are likely noncitizens. The request concerned roughly 20,000 ballots.

The judge said granting the emergency measure could unsettle the ongoing election, discourage participation by voters and election workers, and discount votes cast by U.S. citizens. The ruling also raised concern that such a late request could allow political actors to sow disorder in elections.

Dispute over state authority

In a hearing earlier this week, Bill Essayli, a Trump-appointed leader of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California, argued that the administration sought to ensure California followed federal law barring noncitizens from voting.

State officials and other legal advocates opposing the lawsuit argued that the case conflicted with constitutional principles reserving election control to states. They also warned it could complicate the state’s final vote counts in the weeks ahead.

Los Angeles reviewed names

Court filings by Los Angeles officials described a preliminary review of 200 names from the list of 20,000 people. Officials reported that a high proportion said they were born in the United States. The review also found many people on the list had no voting history, according to the filings.