DOJ withdraws lawsuit seeking to separate alleged non-citizen ballots in California
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The Justice Department moved to dismiss its case demanding that California set aside about 20,000 ballots it claimed were cast by non-citizens, citing the imminent completion of vote counting.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion on Friday to voluntarily dismiss its lawsuit that had asked a federal court to require California to isolate roughly 20,000 ballots it alleged were cast by non-citizens until their immigration status could be verified. The request comes days after the Republican Party suffered major defeats in the recent midterm elections and shortly before a hearing scheduled for a special master to assess the accuracy of the list of suspected non-citizen voters.
California election officials have said the list is outdated and includes legitimate voters, a view echoed by the presiding judge, who in a recent order warned that separating ballots at this stage could disenfranchise voters and disrupt the ongoing count. The state had processed about 9 million ballots and still had nearly 5 million to count, making it unlikely that the challenged ballots could be separated without mixing them with lawful votes.
"The relief the United States sought and needed is no longer available—rendering voluntary dismissal necessary," the motion stated.
Los Angeles U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, who originally argued the case, said the suit was intended to "safeguard the integrity of the election so it doesn't have an effect on the upcoming election" and that the Department wanted to stop illegal voting before the election took place.
The Justice Department remains involved in other litigation with immigrant and voting-rights groups over the use of the non-citizen list. A separate suit filed in Alaska at the direction of the administration to block a Senate race result was also dismissed, and the department is appealing that decision in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
State prosecutors have recently arrested more than 30 non-citizens accused of illegal voter registration, and election clerks received subpoenas to testify before grand juries convening in November. The Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., did not respond to a request for comment.