Federal Judge Rejects DOJ Bid to Hold Back California Ballots From 20,000 Alleged Noncitizens, Saying the Election 'Is Already Underway'; DOJ Appeals

A federal judge has refused to stop California from counting mail ballots tied to about 20,000 people the Justice Department calls suspected noncitizens, and the DOJ is already appealing, Fox News reports.

The ruling. U.S. District Judge David Carter, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, issued the decision late Wednesday night after a hearing in Los Angeles. He denied the department's request for a temporary restraining order. He wrote that granting it "would wreak havoc and disrupt the election that is already underway, create a chilling effect on election workers and voters alike, and discount the votes of United States citizens." He added: "Once a vote is segregated, lasting harm has occurred."

The numbers. According to court filings cited by Fox, California mails a ballot to all 23 million of its registered voters. More than 3.7 million people have already voted, including more than 500,000 ballots processed this week with the ballot already out of its envelope. Los Angeles County officials said it would now be impossible to tell which ballot belonged to which voter.

The government's case. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli wrote on X that the court "denied our emergency request to sequester ballots from 20,000 suspected noncitizens," that every day more ballots are processed, and that the delay "disenfranchises American citizens through dilution." He said the Solicitor General authorized an immediate appeal, that a notice of appeal was filed, and that the department will seek an emergency order from the Ninth Circuit. Essayli also pushed back on claims of secret data: "There are no mysterious databases," he wrote, saying voter rolls were compared with USCIS immigration, Social Security and passport records.

The state's case. California told the court the department's assertions rested on "suspect data." Judge Carter wrote that the department never explained why counting the ballots would get in the way of any prosecution. He also said states control their elections, while noting the federal government says the state refuses to accept that there are 20,000 noncitizens on its rolls.

Washington state. Fox adds that on Monday the Justice Department asked Washington officials not to count ballots from 400 voters it says are not citizens. Our earlier story covers the dispute there.

Note for readers: the 20,000 figure is the Justice Department's allegation, and California disputes it. Fox notes that registered voters can remove themselves from the rolls by declaring they are noncitizens, for example while seeking naturalization or asking to be excused from jury duty. We did not see the court filings. The Ninth Circuit has not ruled on the new appeal as of the Fox report.