In a courtroom where the stakes are measured in tens of thousands of folded envelopes, a federal appeals panel has listened to the Justice Department argue that California should set aside roughly 20,000 mail ballots it says are tied to noncitizens, and the judges appeared unconvinced. The request is part of a wider struggle over how far Washington may reach into the way states keep their voter rolls and handle the ballots their citizens cast. California election officials, who must actually carry out such orders, have described the demand as unsettling, a reminder that democratic machinery is
Appeals Court Judges Question DOJ Push to Set Aside California Mail Ballots
Skepticism at oral argument is a signal and not a decision.
Mark
So what actually happened in the courtroom?
Mimi
A 9th Circuit panel heard the Justice Department argue that California should set aside about 20,000 mail ballots it links to noncitizens. Several outlets reported the judges were skeptical of the basis for that request.
Mark
Why does the number matter?
Mimi
Twenty thousand is a large batch to pull from a count. For California officials, it's an operational problem as well as a legal one, and AP described them as frustrated and rattled.
Luke
Before we go further, what do we actually know about the 20,000? Who counted them?
Mimi
The coverage attributes the figure to the federal demand. We don't have the method or the evidence behind it in what's reported here.
Luke
So the claim that they're noncitizen ballots is the government's allegation, not an established fact.
Mimi
Right. The headlines put 'noncitizen' in quotation marks for that reason.
Mark
And the judges' skepticism, does that tell us how they'll rule?
Luke
No. It's a read of the room reported by outlets. We have no ruling, no judge names, and no quotes from the bench in this material.
Mimi
That's fair. What we can say is that the panel questioned the government's basis, and the decision is still pending.
Mark
What's the bigger stake?
Mimi
How far federal authority reaches into state voter rolls and ballot handling, with an election close enough that timing matters.
Der Puls
- A federal appeals panel pressed the Justice Department on its basis for demanding that California pull about 20,000 mail ballots aside.
- The demand to sequester ballots flagged as tied to noncitizens has jolted California election offices in the middle of an active vote.
- Election officials are being asked to act on a federal claim whose evidence has not been made fully public, leaving them caught between instruction and procedure.
- The 9th Circuit's skepticism suggests the government faces a steep climb, though no decision has been handed down.
- A ruling either way will draw a line on federal power over state ballots just weeks before voters head to the polls.
In a courtroom where the stakes are measured in tens of thousands of folded envelopes, a federal appeals panel has listened to the Justice Department argue that California should set aside roughly 20,000 mail ballots it says are tied to noncitizens, and the judges appeared unconvinced. The request is part of a wider struggle over how far Washington may reach into the way states keep their voter rolls and handle the ballots their citizens cast. California election officials, who must actually carry out such orders, have described the demand as unsettling, a reminder that democratic machinery is built of ordinary, careful labor. No ruling has yet been issued, and the panel's tone is a signal rather than a verdict.
A panel of federal appeals judges on the 9th Circuit has heard the Trump administration's case for forcing California to set aside roughly 20,000 mail ballots, and by several accounts the judges were not persuaded. Coverage from Politico, CNN, ABC News, AP and Yahoo describes a bench that pressed the Justice Department hard on the basis for its request.
The Justice Department wants California to hold apart ballots it says are tied to noncitizens, rather than counting them in the ordinary way. The request sits inside a voting lawsuit the administration has brought against the state. The reporting available does not yet reveal the judges' names, their precise questions, or the evidence the government offered, and those details would show how strong its showing really is.
In California's election offices, the mood is one of frustration and alarm. Officials who run elections were being asked to pull a large batch of ballots aside on the strength of a federal claim, with voting already underway. California votes largely by mail, so the demand touches the center of how the state conducts its elections.
No ruling has been issued. Skepticism at argument is a signal, not a decision, but it suggests the government has a difficult path. If the court declines to order the ballots set aside, it will limit federal intervention in state ballot handling so close to the election. If it sides with the department, officials will have to separate about 20,000 ballots on short notice. Either way, the decision will be read far beyond California.
A panel of federal appeals judges has heard the Trump administration's case for forcing California to set aside roughly 20,000 mail ballots, and by several accounts the judges were not persuaded. The argument took place before a panel of the 9th Circuit, and the headlines from Politico, CNN, ABC News, AP and Yahoo all describe a bench that pressed the Justice Department on the basis for its request.
At issue is a demand from the Justice Department that California sequester ballots it says are tied to noncitizens. The figure that recurs in the coverage is about 20,000 mail ballots. The department's effort is part of a voting lawsuit the Trump administration has brought against the state, and it asks a court to compel California to hold those ballots apart rather than count them in the ordinary way.
The reporting available here is thin on the specifics of the courtroom exchange. The headlines say the judges were skeptical, and the AP's framing is that the panel questioned the basis for the federal request to block the ballots. What the source material does not supply is the names of the judges, the precise questions they asked, or the evidence the Justice Department offered to support its claim that the ballots belong to noncitizens. Those details would show how weak or strong the government's showing actually is.
The other side of the story is the one playing out in California's election offices. AP reported that state election officials were frustrated and rattled by the demand. The concern, as summarized, is practical as much as political: officials responsible for running an election were being told to pull a large batch of ballots aside on the strength of a federal claim, with the vote already underway.
The case sits within a broader contest over how far the federal government can go in challenging state voter rolls and the handling of ballots. California runs its elections largely through mail voting, so a demand to segregate tens of thousands of mail ballots touches the core of how the state administers its process.
The panel has not, in the material available, issued a ruling. Skepticism at oral argument is a signal and not a decision, and judges sometimes rule differently from the tenor of their questions. Still, the tone reported by multiple outlets suggests the Justice Department has a difficult path.
What comes next is the ruling itself. If the 9th Circuit declines to order the ballots set aside, it would mark a limit on federal authority to intervene in state ballot handling this close to the election. If it sides with the department, California's election officials would face an order to separate about 20,000 ballots on short notice. Either way, the decision will likely be read well beyond California.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
California election officials were frustrated and rattled by the DOJ demand to sequester 'noncitizen' ballots.— AP News, summarizing state election officials
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