The federal government has asked a court to abandon its own effort to block California from counting about 20,000 ballots it claimed belonged to noncitizens, a retreat that arrives after the window for such a remedy had already closed. The case grew out of a larger national contest over who controls the machinery of state elections, and over whether suspicion can justify disrupting the votes of millions of people. A judge had already warned that acting so late would fall hardest on citizens, and the request to withdraw suggests the practical limits of that warning were finally acknowledged. Wh
DOJ Drops Suit Seeking to Block California From Counting 20,000 Alleged Noncitizen Ballots
"The relief the United States sought and needed is no longer available"
Mark
Why would the Justice Department drop its own case now?
Mimi
By its own admission, the remedy is gone. The motion says California will have mixed the challenged ballots in with lawful ones before the hearing, so the relief it wanted is no longer available.
Mark
Was that predictable?
Mimi
Essayli himself argued in court that the case would be moot after Election Day, since there'd be no way to sequester those ballots. The suit was filed in mid-October, after hundreds of thousands of ballots were already processed and anonymized.
Luke
Careful, though. The department's motion cites the practical problem, not the merits. We don't know whether the 20,000 figure was right.
Mark
What do we know about the list?
Mimi
California officials say it's outdated and includes legitimate voters, and Judge Carter echoed that in his order. A special master was going to test its accuracy, but that hearing won't happen now.
Luke
Right, so the accuracy question stays unanswered. The judge's view is a ruling on the request, not a verified audit of the list.
Mark
What about the arrests and subpoenas?
Mimi
More than 30 noncitizens have been arrested by California prosecutors for allegedly registering illegally, and clerks got grand jury subpoenas.
Luke
And it's not clear who is being charged. The point that the department doesn't usually subpoena targets is an inference, not a finding about anyone.
Il Polso
- The Justice Department asked a federal court to dismiss its own lawsuit, abandoning a bid to stop California from counting roughly 20,000 disputed ballots.
- Judge David O. Carter rejected the request in a sharply worded order, warning that late separation of ballots could disenfranchise citizens and wreak havoc on the midterms.
- Ballots had already been processed and anonymized by the time the suit was filed, leaving the government with a remedy that no longer existed.
- The Supreme Court turned away a final appeal on the eve of Election Day, while grand jury subpoenas and more than 30 noncitizen arrests keep the fight alive in other forms.
The federal government has asked a court to abandon its own effort to block California from counting about 20,000 ballots it claimed belonged to noncitizens, a retreat that arrives after the window for such a remedy had already closed. The case grew out of a larger national contest over who controls the machinery of state elections, and over whether suspicion can justify disrupting the votes of millions of people. A judge had already warned that acting so late would fall hardest on citizens, and the request to withdraw suggests the practical limits of that warning were finally acknowledged. What remains are the unresolved disputes, the criminal inquiries, and the question of whether the claims that began this fight will be tested anywhere else.
On Friday, the Justice Department asked a federal court to throw out its lawsuit against California, which had aimed to stop the state from counting roughly 20,000 ballots the department said came from noncitizens. The request came days after Republicans suffered significant losses in the midterms, and about a week before a hearing where a special master would test the accuracy of the government's list. California officials say that list is outdated and includes legitimate voters.
Judge David O. Carter denied the government's request in a pointed order. In its own motion, the department acknowledged that by the hearing, the challenged ballots would be irreparably mixed with lawful ones, and that the relief it sought was no longer available. By early Friday, California had processed about 9 million ballots with nearly 5 million still to count.
The timing had been a problem from the start. The suit was filed in mid-October, after ballots had gone to 23 million voters and hundreds of thousands had been processed. Once processed, a ballot is anonymized. The top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles had said the goal was to protect the election's integrity before the vote, not to chase illegal voting afterward. Carter let the election proceed and appointed the special master, warning that separating ballots so late risked disenfranchising citizens. On the eve of Election Day, the Supreme Court rejected a final appeal in a one-line unsigned order.
The fight is not over. Litigation with immigrant and voting rights groups over the list continues, an Alaska suit against a Senate result was dismissed and is on appeal, and California prosecutors have arrested more than 30 noncitizens accused of illegal registration, some also of past voting. Clerks received grand jury subpoenas, and it remains unclear who is being charged. The Justice Department has not commented.
On Friday, the Justice Department asked a federal court to throw out its own lawsuit against California. The suit had sought to stop the state from counting roughly 20,000 ballots that the department alleged came from noncitizens, at least until their immigration status could be verified.
The request arrived days after Republicans took significant losses in the midterm elections. It also came about a week before a hearing at which a special master was due to evaluate the accuracy of the department's list. California officials have said that list is out of date and includes legitimate voters. The federal judge overseeing the case, David O. Carter, agreed in an order denying the government's request that he described in blistering terms.
In the motion, the department conceded the practical problem. By the time of the hearing, it said, California would have irreparably "commingled the challenged ballots with lawful ones." The motion went on: "The relief the United States sought and needed is no longer available—rendering voluntary dismissal necessary." As of early Friday, state election officials said California had processed roughly 9 million ballots, with nearly 5 million still left to count.
The timing had been an issue from the start. The suit was filed in mid-October, after ballots had gone out to all of the state's 23 million registered voters and after hundreds of thousands had already been processed. Once a ballot is processed, it is completely anonymized. Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, had argued in court that the case would be irrelevant after Election Day, because there would be no way to sequester ballots allegedly belonging to noncitizens. When the suit was filed, he said his goal was to safeguard the election's integrity so that the issue wouldn't affect the upcoming vote. The week before the election he told reporters outside court, "We want to stop the illegal voting. We don't want to chase it later."
Judge Carter, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton, allowed California to proceed with its elections as planned and appointed the special master in late October. His order argued that separating ballots so late would risk disenfranchising citizens and warned it would "wreak havoc" on the midterms. The special master was also meant to examine whether California election officials actually had a mechanism for separating the ballots. On Monday, on the eve of Election Day, the Supreme Court rejected a Justice Department appeal seeking to force California to separate mail ballots from the roughly 20,000 people in question. It did so in a one-line, unsigned order.
The case was central to the Trump administration's push to assert control over state-run elections nationwide. Mr. Trump has said those elections are rife with illegal voting, without providing evidence.
The dismissal does not end the broader fight. The department is still in litigation with immigrant and voting rights groups seeking to limit its use of the list of suspected noncitizens. A separate suit, filed in Alaska at Mr. Trump's direction before the election, tried to block the Democrat's victory in that state's Senate race. A federal judge ruled against it. The administration is appealing, though it has not yet filed a full brief at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Criminal cases also continue. California prosecutors have arrested more than 30 noncitizens in recent weeks, accused of illegally registering to vote, and some are also accused of voting in earlier elections. In the week before the election, clerks around the state received subpoenas to testify before grand juries scheduled to convene in November. It is not clear who is being charged. The department does not typically subpoena people it regards as targets of an investigation to appear before a grand jury. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles referred questions to Washington, and the Justice Department did not respond to an emailed request for comment Friday evening.
Citazioni salienti
The relief the United States sought and needed is no longer available—rendering voluntary dismissal necessary.— Justice Department motion to dismiss
We want to stop the illegal voting. We don't want to chase it later.— Bill Essayli, top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles
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Politics & Governance