A federal appeals court on Monday rejected the Trump administration’s unprecedented attempt to force California to cancel the votes of 20,000 people it claims are noncitizens.
The Justice Department’s lawsuit in California earlier this month is part of its growing efforts to involve the federal government in how states run their elections.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Justice Department’s emergency appeal following arguments during an unusual emergency hearing held Sunday via Zoom.
Judge Mark Bennett, a Trump appointee, and Judge Gabrial Sanchez, a Biden appointee, ruled that the appeals court did not have the authority to rule on the DOJ lawsuit before the district court took up the case.
“The state of emergency claimed by the United States is, at least in part, an emergency of its own making,” the majority wrote. “At least part of the delay here is attributable to the United States’ delay in filing suit, realizing that existing California law governs the issuance and processing of ballots, recognizing that California has millions of registered voters and processing ballots on a schedule aligned with that scale, and communicating to the court the relief it desires.”
A third judge on the panel, Judge Patrick Bumatay, a Trump appointee, dissented.
The ruling sends the case back to the U.S. District Court in California, where a hearing is scheduled for Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit earlier this month to stop California authorities from counting more than 20,000 mail-in ballots associated with people the federal government believes were likely noncitizens. The DOJ appealed to the 9th Circuit after the district court judge failed to issue a ruling last week before Tuesday’s hearing.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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