Federal Judge Rejects Administration Bid to Segregate California Ballots

A federal judge has firmly denied a request from the Trump administration to set aside approximately 20,000 mail-in ballots in California. The administration had sought to isolate these votes, claiming they were cast by individuals who may not be citizens. However, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter ruled that such an intervention would wreak havoc on the election, which is already well underway.

In his decision, Judge Carter emphasized that the federal government lacks the authority to force states to abandon their established constitutional procedures for managing elections. He noted that the administration’s demand for urgent action threatened to undermine the sovereignty of California and its voters. The court further observed that the legal basis for the administration's claims regarding noncitizen voting remained unproven.

Local election officials highlighted the practical impossibility of the administration's request. Because hundreds of thousands of ballots had already been processed and separated from their identifying envelopes, matching specific ballots back to individual voters would be virtually impossible. The court warned that once a vote is segregated or discounted based on unsubstantiated allegations, it risks causing irreparable harm to the democratic process.

Following the district court's ruling, the Trump administration sought relief through the appellate system. However, a three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also rejected the effort in a 2-1 vote. The appeals court panel characterized the administration's proposal as plainly unconstitutional, marking a significant legal setback for the Justice Department's attempt to intervene in state-run election operations.