Appeals court rejects DOJ bid to set aside California mail ballots
A federal appeals court on Friday rejected the Justice Department’s emergency bid to force California to set aside mail-in ballots associated with roughly 20,000 suspected noncitizens, opening a potential path to the Supreme Court days before the midterm elections.
TL;DR
- A federal appeals court rejected the Justice Department's emergency request to set aside mail-in ballots in California linked to about 20,000 suspected noncitizens.
- The court's majority found the DOJ had not proven federal law authorized the intervention or that its list of suspected noncitizens was reliable.
- The decision noted that the requested relief risked disenfranchising eligible voters and jeopardizing the ballot tabulation process.
- The ruling follows a similar denial by a U.S. District Judge and allows the Justice Department to pursue an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court.
- A dissenting judge argued that separating the ballots would preserve eligibility checks without canceling any legitimate votes.
- The Justice Department's effort stems from concerns that federal law prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections.
- Separately, Democrats are challenging federal demands to states regarding voter removal or ballot withholding.