US court rules against Trump administration in California voting case

Key points

• The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals refused to let the Trump administration set aside about 20,000 California mail-in ballots before the November 3 midterm election.
• In a 2-1 decision, the court said lower courts had not been given enough time to review the case and that election administration is a state responsibility.
• California officials called the lawsuit a political stunt that could disenfranchise thousands of voters, and the administration has lost 26 of its 30 voter-roll lawsuits.

A US federal appeals court has rejected the Trump administration's attempt to stop California from counting certain mail-in ballots in this election cycle. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday against a request to sequester roughly 20,000 mailed ballots before the November 3 midterm election.

The administration claimed the ballots went to people who are "likely" non-citizens, but it has not publicly explained how it built the list or decided those voters were ineligible because of citizenship status.

Court cites timing and state role

The appeals court split two to one, finding that the administration had not allowed lower courts enough time to review the case, so it declined to halt California's ballot counting. The majority also stressed that running elections is the state's responsibility under the US Constitution.

Judge Gabriel Sanchez wrote that the administration was asking "the federal court to dictate to a state legislature a matter squarely within the state's traditional domain". He also warned that granting the petition would invite "disorder and confusion" for voters and election officials.

At best, this litigation is a reckless political stunt

— lawyers for California Secretary of State Shirley Weber

California response and wider lawsuits

The administration sued California on October 15, less than three weeks before the midterm vote. A lower court hearing is set for Tuesday, but the administration sought a faster appeals ruling because of the approaching election.

California officials have questioned the claim that 20,000 ballots went to likely non-citizens. Lawyers for Secretary of State Shirley Weber called the case "a reckless political stunt" in an October 20 filing and said it threatens to disenfranchise thousands of Californians.

The Department of Justice has sued 30 states and Washington, DC, for access to voter rolls and has lost 26 of those cases so far, winning none. Non-citizens are barred from federal elections in all 50 states, and a July Reuters investigation found only 129 cases since 1996 of non-citizens charged federally with illegal voting, many involving mistakes rather than fraud.