Ninth Circuit blocks Trump administration's move to set aside 20,000 California ballots

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling on Friday that leaves 20,000 California mail-in ballots in play for the upcoming midterm election.

This is the second time in under a week that a federal appeals court has denied the Trump administration's petition to exclude these specific ballots from the count. The decision arrives with less than four days remaining before voters cast ballots on November 3. The court determined that the administration's request would conflict with the US Constitution and threaten the ability of eligible voters to participate.

The majority opinion was authored by Judges Mark Bennett and Gabriel Sanchez. Bennett is a Trump appointee, while Sanchez was appointed by former President Joe Biden. They concluded that the request would not just segregate the ballots but cancel them and remove voters from the rolls. Judge Patrick Bumatay, another Trump appointee, issued a dissenting opinion. He argued that the administration's petition constituted a reasonable request.

The legal battle centers on a list of approximately 20,000 individuals the administration identified as likely non-citizens. The White House sued California on October 15 to prevent these specific mail-in ballots from being counted. The administration initially delivered this list to state officials on October 12, just three weeks before the election date. California rejected the demand to set aside the ballots, asking the federal government to provide proof that the listed names were actually foreign nationals. State officials say no such evidence has been provided.

Doubts have emerged regarding the accuracy of the federal list. Other states that received similar lists, including Nevada and Washington, found the documents largely inaccurate. Nevada state authorities released a statement in September noting that the administration had erroneously identified citizens as non-citizens. According to that statement, not a single name on the Nevada list was correct. In California, the administration charged 28 foreign nationals with election-related infractions last week. However, some accused individuals told the Los Angeles Times they had never registered to vote. The newspaper reported that some defendants shared the same names as eligible voters.

California, a Democratic stronghold, will elect 52 members of the House of Representatives on November 3. Governor Gavin Newsom has criticized the federal move, calling it a desperate attempt to suppress California voters. He stated that the administration is using the Justice Department to sow distrust in the election results. The Constitution's Elections Clause grants states exclusive authority to administer elections. The majority opinion cited this clause, writing that they declined to undermine the Constitution's plain text. They also expressed major concerns that the move would put the entire tabulation process in jeopardy.

The administration had previously sought an emergency ruling to suspend the ballots. The appeals court rejected that initial petition on Monday, citing a lack of adequate time for lower courts to weigh the matter. A lower court ruled against the administration on Wednesday, prompting the second appeal to the 9th Circuit. The current decision allows the state to proceed with counting the contested ballots alongside the rest of the state's returns.