Election Law: 9th Circuit Blocks DOJ Ballot Segregation in California

A federal appeals court on Friday denied the Justice Department’s request to pause the counting of roughly 20,000 ballots in California. The 9th Circuit panel ruled that the department cannot force the state to segregate votes from individuals listed as potential noncitizens until their status is verified. The decision stands as a setback for the administration’s strategy to assert federal control over state-run midterm elections.

The administration argues that California mailed ballots to people who may not hold U.S. citizenship. Federal officials want those specific ballots removed from the count to prevent ineligible votes from diluting lawful ones. California election officials counter that the list of names is unreliable and likely contains many legal citizens. A district court judge had already rejected the segregation request on Wednesday, warning that the process could disenfranchise eligible voters.

Judge Mark J. Bennett, appointed by President Donald Trump, and Judge Gabriel P. Sanchez, appointed by former President Joe Biden, formed the majority. They wrote that there is no feasible way to identify and separate specific ballots without causing catastrophic effects on the entire election system. Judge Patrick J. Bumatay, also appointed by Trump, dissented. He argued that California’s refusal to separate the ballots encourages the violation of federal law and undermines the federal interest in election integrity.

Hours after the appeals court ruling, U.S. District Judge Trina L. Thompson in the Northern District of California issued a separate order. This injunction bars the Justice Department from threatening or coercing election workers while they process ballots. The order stems from a lawsuit filed by labor unions earlier that same day. Thompson noted that millions of Californians have already voted and that processed votes cannot be matched back to individual voters. The judge emphasized that delaying the ruling would carry significant consequences given that Election Day is imminent.

The Justice Department stated in a statement that enforcing federal law against noncitizen voting is a core duty rather than an agenda item. Kiersten V. Pels, a department spokesperson, wrote in an email that every ineligible vote cancels out the vote of an American citizen. The department has indicated it may appeal the rulings to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a related move, a third federal judge ordered the administration to share the disputed list of names with legal teams from the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and the UCLA Voting Rights Project. The government appealed that decision on Friday evening.

The coalition and the voting rights project are the first outside groups to gain access to the list of approximately 20,000 names. They plan to assess the data’s impact on eligible voters. Xavier Becerra, the Democratic candidate for California governor, serves as an adviser to the UCLA Voting Rights Project. Meanwhile, federal investigators in Los Angeles County have issued subpoenas to election officials. At least three officials have been asked to appear before a grand jury the day after the election concludes on Tuesday.