Appeals Court Denies Trump Administration Bid to Segregate California Ballots

A federal appeals court has delivered a significant blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to intervene in California’s election process. In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request to force state officials to set aside approximately 20,000 mail-in ballots that the administration claimed were cast by potential non-citizens. This decision marks the second time in less than a week that the court has rebuffed federal attempts to impound these specific votes.

The administration had argued that these ballots should be sequestered until the citizenship status of the voters could be verified. However, the court found no merit in the request, echoing concerns previously raised by a district court judge. The panel emphasized that there is no feasible way to identify and segregate these individual ballots without causing catastrophic damage to the integrity and functionality of the state's broader election system.

California officials have consistently challenged the accuracy of the federal government's list, noting that it likely includes many eligible U.S. citizens. Furthermore, election administrators have pointed out that once ballots are processed, they are anonymized, making it technically impossible to match specific votes back to the individuals who submitted them.

This ruling arrives just days before the November 3 midterm elections, during a period of heightened federal scrutiny over state-run voting procedures. While the administration has pursued similar challenges in other states, the 9th Circuit’s decision reinforces the legal hurdles facing federal efforts to exert control over local election administration. As of now, the state continues its work to count the millions of ballots already submitted by voters across California.