Federal appeals court rejects Trump administration attempt to set aside California ballots

A federal appeals court on Monday rejected an emergency request by the Justice Department to force California to set aside mail-in ballots from 20,000 voters accused of being noncitizens, CNN and The Guardian reported. The decision by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the Trump administration in the voting dispute ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, according to CNN and The Guardian. [1][4]

The ruling followed an emergency hearing held via Zoom on Sunday, CNN and Fox News reported. The three-judge panel questioned government attorneys regarding their legal arguments and whether the court possessed jurisdiction to intervene, according to Fox News. CNN reported that Judge Mark Bennett, a Trump appointee, and Judge Gabrial Sanchez, a Biden appointee, ruled against the government's appeal. [1][2][3]

The federal lawsuit filed earlier this month instructed California counties to set aside and verify mail-in ballots from a list of registered voters the Justice Department alleges are noncitizens, CNN and The Guardian reported. MSNBC reported that a survey of Justice Department criminal cases in California shows only a small number of noncitizen voting prosecutions, despite the administration portraying the issue as widespread. [1][4][6]

As FTMQ News reported earlier, the Justice Department filed the notice of appeal to the 9th Circuit after arguing that inaction by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter amounted to a denial of its initial request to block the ballot counting. [15]