Judge denies the Justice Department's bid to stop processing California ballots
A federal judge has denied the Department of Justice's request to segregate 20,000 ballots in California that were flagged as potentially belonging to noncitizens. The judge ruled that the request was an unprecedented attempt to interfere with state election procedures and could disenfranchise eligible voters.
Why it matters
This ruling highlights the ongoing legal and political tension regarding election integrity, federal oversight, and the potential for voter disenfranchisement during high-stakes midterm elections.
A federal judge has denied an unprecedented, emergency request by the Department of Justice to segregate thousands of California ballots in the midterm elections.
The Justice Department wants California election officials to stop processing ballots pertaining to 20,000 individuals that federal officials say are "likely" noncitizens.
Voting Some on DOJ's 20,000 'likely' noncitizen list in California appear to be U.S.-born State and local officials in California have countered that the DOJ's list of "likely" noncitizens is unreliable, with a preliminary analysis by Los Angeles County showing that many on the list do not have active voter registrations. The officials also claim that setting aside ballots just days before Election Day, when voting and processing mailed ballots are already underway, would be unlawful and infeasible and would disenfranchise eligible voters.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in