Justice Department Drops Lawsuit Over California Noncitizen Ballots
The U.S. Department of Justice withdrew a lawsuit seeking to segregate 20,000 suspected noncitizen mail-in ballots after suffering multiple court defeats.
The United States Department of Justice withdrew a federal lawsuit that sought to force California election officials to segregate approximately 20,000 mail-in ballots cast by suspected noncitizens. The decision to drop the case came just before a scheduled evidentiary hearing in Santa Ana, where federal prosecutors were expected to defend the methodology used to identify noncitizens on voter rolls.
The withdrawal followed a string of judicial losses between October 26 and November 2. The federal government's efforts were rejected by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, and finally the Supreme Court of the United States, which denied an emergency application on November 2.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated that the federal government has "thrown in the towel" following the four court defeats in a single week. Conversely, Hans von Spakovsky of Advancing American Freedom argued that the dismissal was a result of post-election timing rather than a legal victory for the state, asserting that systemic errors in California's voter registration process persist.
