A panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has denied an emergency request from the federal government to compel California officials to set aside mail-in ballots for 20,000 individuals flagged as possible noncitizens.
California state officials have resisted the Department of Justice’s demand, arguing there is insufficient time to verify the eligibility of each voter before the upcoming election.
The court ruled in a 2-1 decision that it lacked jurisdiction to grant the emergency request. The panel did not address whether the 20,000 voters are eligible.
Federal Attorney Matthew Donnelly argued that allowing noncitizens to vote would cause “irreparable harm” by violating state laws, calling the damage “irreversible and irrevocable.”
Seth Waxman, attorney for the Los Angeles County Clerk, countered that reviewing millions of records would require approximately 140,000 man-hours—equivalent to 16 years of work—and a sample review found many entries were canceled or inactive registrations with no voting history.
A sworn affidavit from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) revealed that after reviewing the immigration records of all individuals on the County’s Sample List, none were born in the United States according to USCIS data.
Nicolas Bartell, associate director of the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate at USCIS, stated: “After a thorough review of the immigration records of all the individuals on the County’s Sample List, it was determined that none of the individuals USCIS matched to the County’s Sample List were born in the United States according to USCIS records.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta praised the ruling, saying: “The U.S. Constitution gives states and Congress—not the president or the executive branch—the power to determine the time, place, and manner of elections.”
Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom added: “Trump’s assault on democracy won’t slow down. Each and every one of us can do something: participate in democracy, don’t become disillusioned. California is fighting back. And we are calling on all Californians to do the same.”
