Judge blocks Trump bid to hold California ballots over citizenship claims

A federal judge in Los Angeles denied a Trump administration request on Wednesday to stop California from processing the ballots of up to 20,000 people. The Justice Department alleged these voters are likely noncitizens and sought to have their ballots set aside until their immigration status could be verified. Judge David O. Carter rejected the plan, stating it would create chaos in an election already in motion.

The ruling arrives with more than 3.7 million votes already cast in California. Carter argued that separating ballots at this late stage would cause lasting damage to public confidence in the results. He wrote that eroded trust in democracy is irreversible. Once a vote is segregated, the harm has already occurred. He declined to let the executive branch discount votes based on unproven claims.

The Justice Department filed the lawsuit in mid-October. It accused California election officials of missing a 48-hour deadline to review the list of 20,000 names. The federal government wanted the state to wait to count those specific ballots. This move is part of a wider effort by the Republican administration to expand federal control over state-run elections ahead of the vote that will determine control of Congress.

Carter’s order criticized the request as a violation of civil rights laws. He noted that segregating ballots now would force counties to create new sorting methods. This process risks disenfranchising many voters. The judge said this effect is similar to purging voters, which the National Voting Rights Act prohibits within 90 days of an election. He warned the move would create a chilling effect on election workers and citizens alike.

Practical logistics also weighed on the decision. California mails ballots to all 23 million registered voters. Filings show that over 500,000 ballots had already been processed by that point. Processing means the envelopes were verified and the ballots removed. Los Angeles county officials testified that it would be nearly impossible to match a specific ballot to a specific voter after that step.

Carter also rejected the argument that California was blocking federal enforcement of election law. He pointed to a recent case where prosecutors arrested 28 noncitizens who allegedly voted or registered illegally. That action, he said, demonstrated the government’s ability to enforce the law without disrupting the current count. Carter had previously suggested appointing a special master to review government data, but his final order did not establish that role.

The Justice Department said it would appeal the decision immediately. This will be the second time the government appeals in this case. The first appeal was denied by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Two of the three judges on that panel expressed strong doubt about the merits of the lawsuit. Bill Essayli, a first assistant U.S. attorney, defended the suit on social media after the ruling.

Essayli wrote that every day more ballots are processed, which he said disenfranchises citizens through dilution. He argued that segregating a ballot does not prevent it from being counted later. He described the move as a way to preserve the status quo and prevent illegal ballots from infecting the election.

Election law experts called the ruling consistent with the principle that states run elections, not the federal government. David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, said the DOJ’s demands seemed designed to cause chaos. Jon Miller, chief program officer for the Public Rights Project, called the decision a major victory for voters. His group represents Los Angeles county officials and remains prepared for further challenges.

Similar legal battles are underway in other states. The Justice Department filed a similar request in Washington state this week for hundreds of suspected noncitizen ballots. Another lawsuit in Alaska seeks to delay the certification of the vote if the Republican Senate incumbent does not win. All three states have races that will influence the balance of power in Congress.