Federal judge blocks Justice Department's attempt to segregate 20,000 California ballots
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A California federal judge rejected the Justice Department's emergency bid to separate roughly 20,000 ballots alleged to belong to non-citizens, warning that the move could violate constitutional safeguards and disrupt an election already underway.
A federal judge in Los Angeles rejected the Justice Department's emergency bid for an order that would have forced California to segregate about 20,000 ballots the administration claimed were likely cast by non-citizens. In a 26-page opinion, Judge David Carter said the request threatened to "wreak havoc" on the ongoing midterm elections and would intrude on state authority over election administration.
"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," Carter wrote.
The judge stressed that states retain long-established constitutional power over elections, and that separating the ballots could disenfranchise registered voters while sowing confusion at polling and counting sites. He denied the government's request for a temporary restraining order, saying the public interest lies in protecting voters' rights and safeguarding election workers from destabilizing federal intervention.
First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said the department would appeal the decision, noting that the district court had denied the emergency request and that the Solicitor General had authorized an immediate appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
State election officials had argued that changing ballot-handling procedures while voting was already in progress would plunge the November election into disorder. The ruling comes as federal prosecutors recently charged 28 individuals in California with election-related offenses.