Federal appeals court rejects Trump administration's bid to hold 20,000 California mail ballots

A federal appeals court in San Francisco denied the Trump administration’s request to sequester approximately 20,000 mail-in ballots in California on Monday. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision allows the state to count the votes ahead of the November 3 midterm election. The ruling came in a two-to-one decision that cited procedural deficiencies in the government's petition.

The administration argued that the ballots were sent to individuals who are likely non-citizens. However, the government has not publicly disclosed the methodology used to create the list of eligible voters or the specific criteria for determining citizenship status. The lawsuit was filed on October 15, leaving less than three weeks for lower courts to adjudicate the matter before election day.

Judge Gabriel Sanchez wrote the majority opinion, stating that the federal government was attempting to dictate a matter squarely within the state’s traditional domain of election administration. Sanchez warned that granting the petition would invite disorder and confusion for both voters and election officials. The majority held that the administration had not given lower courts sufficient time to review the case properly.

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber’s legal team described the lawsuit as a reckless political stunt in a court filing dated October 20. They argued that the move threatened to disenfranchise thousands of Californians in the current election cycle. The state maintains that non-citizen voting is rare and that the administration’s claims lack substantial evidence.

The case is now set for a hearing in a lower court on Tuesday. The Trump administration had sought an expedited decision from the appeals court, citing the approaching election date. The midterm elections will determine which party holds power in Congress. Republicans currently hold slim majorities in both chambers, while experts project Democrats are on track to gain seats.

The Department of Justice has sued 30 states and Washington, D.C., for access to voter rolls containing sensitive personal data. The department argues this access is necessary to prevent alleged voter fraud. It has lost 26 of those cases so far, with opponents arguing that such moves interfere with state election administration and may scare away voters. The administration has not won any of the 30 cases to date.

In July, a Reuters investigation found only 129 cases of non-citizens charged by federal authorities with illegal voting since 1996. Many of those cases involved administrative errors or uncertainty about voting rules rather than fraudulent intent. Last week, the administration charged 28 immigrants in California with illegally voting. Reporting from the Los Angeles Times indicated that some of the accused expressed confusion about the charges and maintained they had never registered to vote.