US appeals court rejects Trump bid to set aside California ballots

Summarised from 4 outlets · Updated 30 Oct, 21:09 · Archive

A federal appeals court has rejected the Trump administration's request to set aside 20,000 California ballots over non-citizen voting concerns.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Trump administration's request to set aside disputed ballots received ahead of California's midterm election on 3 November. The administration had claimed that approximately 20,000 ballots were sent to people who may not be US citizens and sought to prevent them from being counted until citizenship could be verified.

Two judges on the three-judge panel ruled that granting the request could result in "immense hardship" and risk "the disenfranchisement of eligible voters" by potentially removing people from voting rolls entirely. The court found no feasible way to identify and segregate specific ballots "without potentially catastrophic effects on the entire system".

California officials have disputed the accuracy of the administration's list, saying it is highly unreliable and likely includes many US citizens. Al Jazeera reports that officials in other states including Nevada and Washington have also found similar lists from the administration to be largely inaccurate. One Trump-appointed judge, Patrick Bumatay, dissented, calling the administration's petition a "reasonable request".

How it is being reported

• Court rejects DOJ effort to block 20,000 California votesAn appellate court ruled Friday that federal officials cannot stop California from processing over 20,000 ballots.New York Post · 30 Oct, 21:16
• Trump’s bid to toss 20,000 California ballots could ‘jeopardize’ midterm elections, appeals court warnsSupreme Court showdown appears imminent in battle over voters DOJ has accused of being noncitizensIndependent World · 30 Oct, 21:16
• US appeals court again rejects Trump bid to set aside California ballotsThe 9th Circuit Court called the petition to remove 20,000 ballots from California's vote count unconstitutional.Al Jazeera · 30 Oct, 20:39
• Appeals court rejects DOJ bid to set aside disputed California ballotsThe 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Justice Department's request for California to set aside disputed ballots received in the midterm election.CBS News · 30 Oct, 19:40

In this story: Trump administration · US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit · California · Justice Department · Mark Bennett · Gabriel Sanchez · Patrick Bumatay

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log