DOJ seeks appeals court action in California mail-ballot case
The Justice Department asked the Ninth Circuit to block California from counting more than 20,000 mail ballots while their citizenship is checked, before a district judge ruled on the request. The department has charged 28 people with unlawful registration or voting and sued the state after asking officials to set aside the ballots. Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected the suit and said California will protect voters’ access to the polls.
The Justice Department took its request to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday, seeking a temporary halt to ballot counting while a lower court had not yet ruled. District Judge David Carter had set a hearing on an emergency order that would pause counting until citizenship checks were completed.
Earlier, federal prosecutors announced charges against 28 people accused of registering or voting unlawfully; most allegedly used ballots obtained improperly. A deputy attorney general said those charged appeared on a list of roughly 20,000 likely noncitizen registrants sent to California election officials. The state was given 48 hours to set aside those ballots for Homeland Security.
The dispute could heighten uncertainty for voters whose eligibility is questioned and for election workers handling challenged ballots. It may also affect public confidence in mail voting and state-federal authority, especially in close contests where delayed counts could matter. Legal rulings may shape how quickly ballots are processed and whether affected voters face additional verification steps.