Judge blocks Trump administration bid over California ballots

Summarised from 4 outlets · 5 reports · Updated 29 Oct, 01:09 · Archive

A federal judge rejected the Trump administration's demand that California separate ballots from roughly 20,000 suspected non-citizens.

A federal judge on Wednesday rejected the Trump administration's request that California election officials separate out mail ballots received from roughly 20,000 people the Department of Justice claimed are not U.S. citizens.

U.S. District Judge David Carter said the Justice Department's request violated 'longstanding constitutional principles' giving states the authority to administer their own elections. 'Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch,' the judge wrote in a 26-page decision.

The judge warned that granting the administration's request could allow either political party to 'create chaos for their own political purpose to disrupt the election process'. He noted that 'over 20,000 registered Californians would potentially lose the right that generations of Americans have fought to preserve'. California officials have denounced the lawsuit as a political stunt intended to cast doubt on their election process.

This represents the latest setback for the Trump administration's efforts to exert more federal control over election administration ahead of the midterm elections. The case is expected to be appealed.

How it is being reported

• Feds launch immediate appeal after judge rejects bid to stop California from counting 20K disputed ballots"Every day, more ballots are processed by election officials. This ongoing emergency disenfranchises American citizens through dilution," Essayli said.New York Post · 29 Oct, 02:01
• Judge denies the Justice Department's bid to stop processing California ballotsWhile the judge rejected the Department of Justice's unprecedented demand in California, the case isn't over yet and will likely be appealed.NPR · 29 Oct, 00:52
• Judge rebuffs Trump DoJ’s bid to order California to set aside 20,000 ballotsJustice department had demanded state segregate ballots from people it claimed were non-citizens A federal judge declined to order California election officials to segregate ballots from people the Trump administration claimed were non-citizens, rebuffing a legally thin request from the justice department that appeared designed to cast doubt over the results of the midterms. The ruling from US district judge David Carter, nominated to the federal bench by Bill Clinton, comes about two weeks after the justice department delivered a USB drive to election officials in Los Angeles and Sacramento…Guardian World · 29 Oct, 00:48
• Judge rejects DOJ's push to force California to set aside ballotsA federal judge on Wednesday rejected the Trump administration's bid to require California election officials to separate out mail ballots received from roughly 20,000 people it claims are not U.S. citizens.CBS News · 29 Oct, 00:43
• Former election official weighs in on DOJ suit trying to force California to set aside ballotsA federal judge will rule on a Department of Justice lawsuit seeking to compel California to separate mail ballots from suspected noncitizens. California officials have denounced the lawsuit as a political stunt intended to cast doubt on their election process. Kathy Boockvar, the former Pennsylvania secretary of state, weighs in on this and more.CBS News · 28 Oct, 13:10

In this story: Trump administration · California · David Carter · Department of Justice · Los Angeles County

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