Ninth Circuit Rejects DOJ Effort to Block California Ballots

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals twice rejected requests from the United States Department of Justice to stop California from counting mail ballots from approximately 20,000 suspected noncitizens. In a 2-1 decision, the court ruled that the request contravened the Constitution's Elections Clause and likely violated the National Voter Registration Act's ban on systematic voter purges within 90 days of an election.

The appellate ruling followed a decision by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who denied a temporary restraining order and described the administration's efforts as a broad pattern of attempted election interference. While the Justice Department argued that processed ballots cannot be undone if voters are later found ineligible, California officials maintained they lacked the legal authority to freeze ballots based on an unreliable maintenance list.

Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta condemned the federal actions as baseless attempts to meddle in state-run elections. Beyond the litigation, federal prosecutors have issued subpoenas to state and local election officials regarding alleged illegal voting. Judge Carter has scheduled an expedited hearing for November 13 to examine the reliability of the federal government's data. Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented from the appellate ruling, arguing the federal government has a sovereign interest in safeguarding election integrity.