A federal judge rejected the Justice Department’s last-minute bid to sideline more than 20,000 California mail ballots, warning that such a move would violate core rules of how states run elections.
Story Snapshot
- A judge denied the Justice Department’s emergency request to sequester about 20,000 California ballots.
- The Justice Department said a federal list flagged “likely” noncitizens tied to voter rolls or ballots.
- Los Angeles County’s sample check found many listed people showed U.S. birth or no voting history.
- An appeals court also dismissed the Justice Department’s emergency appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
What the Judge Decided and Why It Matters
Federal District Judge David Carter denied the Justice Department’s request to force California to set aside ballots linked to a list of more than 20,000 “likely noncitizens.” He wrote that the plan clashed with longstanding constitutional principles that give states the authority to run their elections. He warned that approving the emergency demand on the eve of voting could let either party create chaos for political gain and erode public trust in elections.
The ruling came after the Justice Department sued California and asked the court to pause tabulation of ballots from people on a federal list until citizenship could be confirmed. The department said it built the list with the Department of Homeland Security and had shared names with state officials for review. The judge’s order did not settle every factual claim. It found the government lacked legal grounds to override California’s ballot-processing rules in this way.
What the Justice Department Alleged and What the Data Shows So Far
The Justice Department said more than 20,000 people were identified as likely noncitizens who were registered and/or sent vote-by-mail ballots. It asked to set those ballots aside and verify each person’s citizenship before counting. The department said the list was produced with help from the Department of Homeland Security and was sent to California for joint review. The filing framed the remedy as temporary segregation to protect election integrity, not an automatic voiding of ballots.
Local checks raised questions about the list’s accuracy. Los Angeles County officials said a preliminary review of 200 names found nearly 40 percent indicated U.S. birth, which they called strong evidence of citizenship, and more than 70 percent had no voting history. The county registrar said about 43 percent of the sample had canceled registrations. These figures do not prove the entire list is wrong, but they show real risks of false matches in database-driven sweeps.
Appeals Court Setback and the Limits of Federal Power
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed the Justice Department’s emergency appeal for lack of jurisdiction, dealing another blow to the rapid push to segregate ballots before Election Day. A separate concurrence from a circuit judge stated that the federal crime against noncitizen voting likely does not preempt California’s power to set its election procedures. Together, these steps signaled narrow legal room for Washington to commandeer state ballot handling at the last minute.
Judge blocks #Trump administration request to segregate 20,000 alleged noncitizen mail-in ballots in California, per NBC News.
Another court rejects the administration's ballot segregation approach.
Appropriate judicial restraint or problematic obstruction? pic.twitter.com/SqbBfSETXv
— FinchDaily 🚨 Stock Market News (@finchdaily) October 29, 2026
Judge Carter also wrote that sequestering ballots inflicts lasting harm once a vote is set aside, and that damage to trust is hard to repair. California officials argued the proposed remedy was unlawful, infeasible so late in the process, and could disenfranchise lawful voters whose names were flagged by mistake. The court’s denial does not bar future investigation, but it closes the door on this emergency route in the current election.
Why Both Sides Are Frustrated—and What Comes Next
Voters across the spectrum see a system that struggles to do two things at once: stop illegal voting and protect every lawful vote. Data matching between voter rolls and immigration files often lacks a single shared identifier, which can produce false positives and false negatives. Even careful methods can pull in citizens, naturalized voters, or outdated records by mistake. That is why courts often resist last-minute ballot segregation without individualized proof.
Two steps could lower the temperature. First, the Justice Department could disclose, under proper safeguards, how its list was built, including the source databases, match fields, error checks, and duplicate removal. Second, California and federal officials could run a joint, case-by-case audit, separating registration status, ballot issuance, ballot return, and any tabulation. Clear counts at each stage would help show whether any illegal votes were actually cast and how many records were simply bad matches.
Bottom Line for Readers
The court blocked the emergency plan to hold back thousands of California ballots because it conflicted with state control and risked harming lawful voters. The Justice Department stands by its integrity claim but did not persuade judges that the law let Washington take over California’s ballot process days before voting. The fight now shifts from emergency courtroom bids to slower, more careful verification—where transparency and precise data will matter most.
Sources:
cbsnews.com, justice.gov, npr.org, usatoday.com, calmatters.org, courthousenews.com, fjc.gov
