Federal judge rejects Justice Department push to halt California ballot processing

A federal judge in California denied the Justice Department's emergency request to stop the processing of approximately 20,000 ballots in the upcoming midterm elections.

U.S. District Judge David Carter issued the ruling on Wednesday evening, rejecting the department's application for a temporary restraining order. The Justice Department sought to segregate votes from individuals it identified as likely noncitizens. Carter, a Clinton appointee, wrote that the federal government had never before attempted to force a state to abandon its constitutional election procedures on the eve of an election.

State and local officials argued that the department's list was unreliable and that pausing operations would be infeasible. Los Angeles County provided a preliminary analysis showing that many names on the list did not correspond to active voter registrations. California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated in a court motion that the lawsuit was a precursor to further interference. He warned the court against joining what he described as a degradation of democratic values.

Carter expressed concern that segregating votes would create lasting harm. He noted that if the executive branch could discount votes based on unproven allegations, democracy would be in danger. The judge concluded that his court would not participate in such a process.

The dispute centers on the timing of the lawsuit, which was filed on Oct. 15. Federal prosecutors argued that urgency is required because mail ballot signatures are verified before envelopes are opened. Once separated, the ballots cannot be retrieved. The department contended that noncitizen votes dilute the impact of U.S. citizen votes, although audits have shown such instances to be rare.

The accuracy of the 20,000-person list remains contested. A Los Angeles County review of a sample found that a large portion of the individuals claimed U.S. birth in their records. Nicolas Bartell, a senior official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, disputed these findings in recent filings. He stated that his office's review found none of those specific individuals were U.S.-born, though he acknowledged four might have a claim to citizenship.

This legal battle is part of a series of actions by the Justice Department in states approaching Election Day. On Monday, federal prosecutors asked Washington state officials to review a list of 400 registered voters. Last week, the department filed a lawsuit in Alaska seeking to stop the certification of Senate race results if the Republican incumbent lost due to a longshot candidate with a similar name.