The Trump administration lost a bid to force California to set aside ballots from a list of likely noncitizen voters.
The Department of Justice had flagged about 20,000 likely noncitizen voters and asked California to either verify their status as legal voters or segregate any ballots from those on the list.
‘There is a public interest in maintaining the integrity of elections. But as discussed, the district court found that the risks that noncitizens are voting are, at best, uncertain.’
California officials resisted, claiming that the list was vague and could lead to the disenfranchisement of legal voters.
The legal battle has worked its way through the court system and now may go to the U.S. Supreme Court.
A two-judge majority on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that the list was not credible, as a lower court had found.
“As the district court found — and we discern no clear error — there is no feasible way to identify and segregate the ballots of specific individuals without potentially catastrophic effects on the entire system,” the unsigned ruling reads.
U.S. Circuit Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented from the majority.
“Throughout history, federal courts have acted to protect the voting and civil rights of our citizens by enjoining state action that violates the law,” Bumatay wrote. “And common sense also tells us that the federal government shouldn’t have to sit on its hands while a State allows the violation of federal law, especially when the integrity of federal elections is at stake.”
California Secretary of State Shirley Weber previously accused the federal government of making “vague and unsubstantiated allegations” in the list from the Department of Homeland Security.
“If the federal government possesses proof that certain registered voters in California are ineligible, we will welcome the opportunity to review that evidence and any supporting data or methodology,” Weber said.
The appeals court appeared to agree with that argument in its split ruling Friday.
“To be sure, there are countervailing public interests at stake,” the majority ruling reads. “There is a public interest in maintaining the integrity of elections. But as discussed, the district court found that the risks that noncitizens are voting are, at best, uncertain.”
The Trump administration could request that the entire Ninth Circuit Court review the case, or it could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The election is in four days.
RELATED: Newsom is OUTRAGED over Justice Department lawsuit to block votes from 20,000 ‘likely noncitizens’
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted a brief statement about the ruling.
“The courts have thrown out Trump’s desperate and dangerous attempts to meddle in the California election process. We’ll continue to fight their illegal power grabs and deliver a free and fair election,” he wrote on social media.
The appeals judges who signed the majority included one nominated by President Donald Trump and one appointed by former President Joe Biden.
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Department of justice, Election integrity, Ninth circuit, Trump administration, Politics
