DOJ Urges Ninth Circuit to Block California Ballot Counting Process

California Ballot Count Faces DOJ Deadline Appeal at Ninth Circuit

The Department of Justice wants a federal appeals court to rule by Friday on an emergency bid to stop California from counting ballots cast by 20,000 people the Trump administration alleges are likely noncitizens.

The United States seeks this relief to prevent unlawful dilution of American citizens’ votes and to protect the integrity of our elections, the DOJ wrote in a new filing to the Ninth Circuit.

By establishing this timeline, the Trump administration may be attempting to accelerate the litigation toward the U.S. Supreme Court before Election Day. This latest appeal lands just one day after U.S. District Judge David Carter denied the administration’s request for a temporary restraining order. That order would have forced California to set aside tens of thousands of ballots until the voters’ citizenship status can be confirmed.

Judge Carter determined that the DOJ was unlikely to succeed on the merits of its case. His ruling challenged the administration’s sweeping assertion that federal law criminalizing noncitizen voting preempts states’ constitutional authority to conduct elections, finding that the federal government likely lacks standing and a valid cause of action. According to Carter, interfering with California’s ballot handling on the basis of unsubstantiated claims would create total chaos for democracy.

Disputing Data Reliability and Judicial Authority

Within its Thursday submission to the Ninth Circuit, the Trump administration contended that, at a minimum, the court should overturn Carter’s finding that the U.S. lacks standing and a required statutory cause of action. The administration also characterized Carter’s skepticism regarding the reliability of the DOJ’s data as an abuse of discretion.

The new appeal goes before the same three-judge panel that previously rebuffed an earlier DOJ appeal as premature because the district court had not yet ruled. Even during that initial procedural rebuff, two judges voiced deep skepticism regarding the administration’s case. Acknowledging this history, the DOJ noted in its Thursday filing that the Ninth Circuit is familiar with the background of the dispute.

The emergency motion was pressed upon the Ninth Circuit by Sam Siegel, the deputy solicitor general for California’s Department of Justice, who asked the panel to deny the application. Siegel pointed out that temporary restraining orders generally cannot be appealed and noted that the court had observed just days prior that the Trump administration’s claimed emergency is, at least in part, a self-constructed one. Siegel added that if the court does choose to take up the appeal, the state does not see a need for further briefing and arguments.

Upcoming District Court Schedule

While the Ninth Circuit weighs the request to block the counting of disputed ballots, proceedings in the district court continue. The underlying lawsuit alleges that California has failed to remove alleged noncitizens from its voter rolls.

DOJ Urges Ninth Circuit to Block California Ballot Counting Process

Judge Carter has established an expedited briefing schedule, setting a formal hearing for Friday, November 13. Ahead of that hearing, Carter ordered all parties to submit a list of witnesses by November 6 who can speak on the validity of the DOJ’s data and methodology for flagging alleged noncitizens.