Appeals Court Refuses to Halt California Ballot Count in Trump Administration's Non-Citizen Voter Case

On Monday, a federal appeals court told the Trump administration it could not stop California from counting roughly 20,000 mailed ballots. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals denied the government's request to sequester those ballots ahead of the November 3 midterm election, and California's tabulation can go on.

The administration's argument was that the ballots had been sent to people who are "likely" non-citizens. What it has not done is say publicly how it built its list or how it decided that the people on it were ineligible because of their citizenship status.

The panel split two to one. The majority said the administration had not given the lower courts enough time to review the case, and on that basis declined to intervene. It also stressed that running elections is the state's job under the US Constitution. Judge Gabriel Sanchez, writing for the majority, said the administration was asking a federal court "to dictate to a state legislature a matter squarely within the state's traditional domain." He warned that granting the request would be "inviting disorder and confusion for voters and election officials alike."

The timing shaped the dispute. The administration filed its lawsuit against California on October 15, less than three weeks before the vote. The case is still before a lower court, which has a hearing set for Tuesday, but the administration asked the appeals court for a faster ruling, citing the approaching election date. California is led by Democrats, and Trump has repeatedly made unfounded claims that the state is prone to "cheating" in its elections.

The stakes of the midterms are high. Republicans currently hold slim majorities in both the House and the Senate, and experts project that Democrats are on track to make significant gains and may flip one or both chambers. In the run-up, Trump has raised non-citizen voting as a threat to election integrity. Experts say such voting is rare, and California officials have questioned the claim that 20,000 ballots went to "likely non-citizens." In an October 20 court filing, lawyers for Secretary of State Shirley Weber called the suit, "at best," a "reckless political stunt" and, "at worst," a threat to disenfranchise thousands of Californians.

This case sits inside a larger campaign. Trump's Justice Department has sued 30 states and Washington, DC, seeking full access to voter rolls that contain sensitive personal data, arguing that the access is needed to prevent voter fraud. It has lost 26 of those cases so far and has not won any of the 30. Opponents have successfully argued that such moves could scare voters away and interfere with state election administration.

The underlying numbers are small. Non-citizens are barred from voting in federal elections in all 50 states. A Reuters investigation in July found only 129 cases since 1996 in which federal authorities charged non-citizens with illegal voting. Many involved mistakes, such as administrative errors or people unsure of the rules, rather than fraudulent intent.

Voting rights advocates also point to flaws in how the administration identifies potential non-citizen voters, and warn that eligible voters could be swept up. Immigration agents have been assigned to find non-citizen voters, in some cases knocking on doors to ask residents about their citizenship status. Last week the administration charged 28 immigrants in California with illegal voting. The Los Angeles Times reported that some of the accused reacted with confusion and said they had never registered to vote.

Trump has a history of promoting false claims of election fraud to justify a larger federal role in voting. After losing to Joe Biden in 2020, he denied defeat and blamed "rigging," a claim that prompted some supporters to storm the US Capitol in an apparent attempt to halt certification. The next step is Tuesday's lower-court hearing, with the election days away.