A federal appeals court has rejected the Trump administration’s latest bid to block California election officials from processing more than 20,000 ballots flagged by the Justice Department over suspected noncitizen voters.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals shot down the DOJ’s emergency request, leaving the disputed mail-in ballots in play after a Los Angeles federal judge rejected the administration’s initial attempt to have them set aside earlier this week.
The ruling marked another blow to President Trump’s escalating effort to challenge California’s voter rolls just days before Election Day.
“Because Congress has not exercised the specific power granted to it under the Elections Clause to override California’s established laws for challenging ballots or removing ineligible voters, the State Legislature’s statutory scheme remains the only method to do so,” the appellate court said.
US District Judge David O. Carter, a Bill Clinton appointee, had criticized the DOJ’s lawsuit in denying the restraining order Wednesday and said election officials have until Dec. 3 — the date by which election results must be certified — to resolve the issue, suggesting there was no need for an emergency injunction.
Carter wrote that by moving to have ballots sequestered, the Trump administration embarked on “a broad, ongoing pattern of “attempted election interference.”
The DOJ disagreed and turned to the appellate court immediately, hoping for a different outcome. The matter is urgent, they said.
“Every minute that goes by, American citizen votes are being diluted in the state of California,” First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said at a news conference last week. “It’s an emergency, and we expect the courts to treat it as such.”
California Democrats praised the Friday ruling and criticized President Trump.
“Trump and his administration just lost for the third time this week in their desperate and dangerous attempts to meddle in the California election process with voting already underway and just days before Election Day,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement.
“These attacks on our democracy are serious, and the full force of our state is defending our democracy right now.”
The Post reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, federal prosecutors pursued subpoenas of California state and local election officials in connection with alleged illegal voting in next week’s midterm elections.
The action was seen as an expansion of the Trump administration’s efforts to show that thousands of non-citizens are registered on California’s voter rolls. The DOJ issued a statement pointing out that receiving a subpoena “doesn’t mean you are a target” of criminal prosecution.
The federal government had originally sued California on Oct. 15, more than a week after mail ballots were sent to all registered voters, demanding it set aside 20,000 ballots from alleged non-citizens after the state refused to voluntarily sequester those votes.
In defiance, Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan argued they lack the mechanisms and legal authority to freeze mail ballots until voters’ citizenship can be verified.
The Trump administration has long alleged that large numbers of non-citizens were casting ballots in California and elsewhere.
Three alleged noncitizens in Southern California were indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday on elected fraud charge, part of the snared 28 suspects in what authorities called the state’s biggest-ever voter fraud bust.
