Federal Judge Denies Justice Department Bid to Set Aside California Ballots
A federal judge on Wednesday denied the Justice Department's emergency request to set aside thousands of California ballots in the midterm elections. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, a Clinton appointee, rejected the request for a temporary restraining order, which is a short-term court order that pauses an action while a case moves forward. NPR He issued a 26-page ruling Wednesday evening, Oct. 28.
The Justice Department had asked California election officials to stop processing ballots tied to 20,000 people it described as "likely" noncitizens. The request sought to segregate more than 20,000 California mail-in ballots. CBS News
Carter wrote that the federal government can address the issue by continuing to indict people for illegally voting as noncitizens, according to the ruling.
California officials said the Justice Department's list is unreliable. They pointed to a preliminary analysis by Los Angeles County showing that many of the people on the list do not have active voter registrations. NPR
State officials also argued that setting aside ballots days before Election Day, while mail-ballot processing was underway, would be unlawful and infeasible. They said it would also disenfranchise eligible voters. Under California law, valid mail ballots must be processed unless they are challenged through the state's mail-ballot challenge procedures, according to the state's filing in the case.
The county had processed more than 331,000 vote-by-mail ballots as of its opposition to the restraining order request. Processing began on Oct. 11.
A U.S. judge appeared skeptical on Tuesday, Oct. 27, of the Justice Department's request to block California from counting mail ballots. Reuters
The Justice Department filed its lawsuit on Oct. 15, after sending California a letter on Oct. 13. The department is expected to appeal the denial of its request. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 3.
