Appeals court rejects Trump DOJ demand to set aside 20,000 California mail ballots

A federal appeals court on Monday rejected the Trump administration’s unprecedented attempt to force California to set aside votes from 20,000 people it claims could be noncitizens. The Justice Department’s lawsuit in California, filed earlier this month, is part of its escalating effort to insert the federal government into how states run their elections. A three-judge panel on the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals issued its 2-1 ruling turning away the Justice Department’s emergency appeal following arguments in an unusual emergency Sunday hearing held via Zoom. Judge Mark Bennett, a Trump appointee, and Judge Gabriel Sanchez, a Biden appointee – ruled that the appeals court did not have the authority to rule on the DOJ lawsuit before the district court had addressed the matter.