US Judge Blocks Trump Bid to Set Aside 20,000 California Ballots

By Staff, Agencies

A federal judge has rejected the US Justice Department’s attempt to intervene in California’s ongoing mail-in ballot count, warning that setting aside up to 20,000 ballots to verify voters’ citizenship could disrupt the election and undermine voting rights.

Federal Judge David O. Carter of the Central District of California ruled that the administration’s request threatened the state’s authority to administer its elections and decades of voting and civil rights protections.

He said eligible voters must not lose their right to vote because of unsubstantiated allegations based on an error-prone verification process.

The Justice Department’s lawsuit relied on a list of California voters it said had been matched against other government records.

The Department of Homeland Security previously claimed that 190,000 registered California voters could be ineligible noncitizens. Officials provided the state with a list of 20,000 alleged high-confidence matches and gave election authorities just 48 hours to act.

Judge Carter argued that federal authorities already have legal mechanisms to prosecute noncitizens who unlawfully vote, questioning why ongoing ballot counting should be interrupted.

He warned that the administration’s proposal could discourage election workers and voters while potentially disenfranchising US citizens.

The Justice Department filed an appeal on Wednesday evening. The case has drawn national attention as a test of how far federal authorities can go in challenging state election procedures. Local officials reviewing the list have found that some names do not appear on voter rolls or have suspended registration status, while others identified as potential noncitizens may actually be US-born citizens. Homeland Security officials have disputed some of these findings.