Federal Court Orders California to Answer DOJ on Noncitizen Ballots

Clear Facts

• The Ninth Circuit ordered California to respond by noon Saturday to the DOJ’s emergency request regarding mail-in ballots sent to roughly 20,000 suspected noncitizens.
• The Justice Department wants those ballots segregated while eligibility is reviewed before they are counted with valid votes.
• California officials have already processed 331,000 ballots in Los Angeles County alone and claim they lack authority to verify citizenship.

A federal appeals court gave California until noon Saturday to reply to the Trump administration’s emergency request over mail-in ballots sent to individuals the Justice Department believes are noncitizens.

The order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit came late Friday after the DOJ asked for quick action ahead of the midterm elections.

The department wants ballots tied to suspected noncitizens set aside for review rather than counted alongside lawful votes.

“This is an emergency,” the filing submitted by Attorney General Todd Blanche and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli stated.

“Every minute of processing that occurs without segregating the ballots of suspected non-eligible voters causes untraceable disenfranchisement and dilution of the votes of United States citizens,” the filing continued.

Essayli said investigators have evidence that at least 20,000 suspected noncitizens received ballots in October.

His office sued California last week seeking a court order to stop those ballots from being counted.

“We’re not asking California to take any drastic steps other than to sequester the ballots from the suspected noncitizens,” Essayli said.

“We believe it’s at a minimum of 20,000. That’s the floor.”

California election officials have resisted the request, arguing counties lack authority and access to federal records needed to check citizenship.

They also noted that once a ballot’s signature is verified, it is separated from its envelope and mixed with other ballots, making segregation impossible.

Los Angeles County alone has already processed 331,000 ballots, according to court records.

Essayli has accused the state of weak citizenship checks, while Governor Gavin Newsom has defended California’s election procedures.

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