California Ballots Stay in Election Process as Appeals Court Again Rejects Trump Effort to Impound Them

Appeals panel denies request

The federal appeals court ruled Friday against the Justice Department’s attempt to have California hold disputed ballots aside until voters’ citizenship could be checked. The decision follows a district judge’s rejection of the request on Wednesday.

The appeals court said there was no practical way to identify and separate ballots belonging to specific people without risking serious disruption to the election system. The majority was written by Judge Mark J. Bennett, appointed by President Donald Trump, and Judge Gabriel P. Sanchez, appointed by former President Joe Biden.

Disputed voter list

The administration alleges California sent ballots to roughly 20,000 people who may not be U.S. citizens. State officials say the list is highly unreliable and probably contains many U.S. citizens.

The district judge warned that the Justice Department’s demands could disenfranchise citizens. In dissent, Judge Patrick J. Bumatay argued that California’s refusal to separate the ballots encourages a “violation of federal law.”

Ballots already processed

Millions of Californians have already voted ahead of Tuesday’s midterms, and election officials say hundreds of thousands of ballots have been processed. Those votes are anonymized and cannot be linked back to the people who cast them.

The ruling adds to a broader legal fight between the federal government and California over state-run elections. The Justice Department has also issued subpoenas in Alaska and supplied Washington state officials with a list of alleged noncitizen voters.

Next steps remain possible

The case is part of the Trump administration’s wider effort to assert federal control over elections run by states. The 9th Circuit’s decision is another setback for that effort.