The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday refused to block California from counting more than 20,000 mail-in ballots that the U.S. Department of Justice says “likely” came from non-citizens, handing the Trump administration a procedural setback in its fight over election integrity in Los Angeles County.
So basically, they just told Democrats it’s OK to cheat on elections. If we can’t secure those 20,000 ballots and make sure they are from American citizens, then what good are we? We’re not. We’re bad. We’re a mess.
The three-judge panel voted 2-1 to reject the DOJ’s emergency request, ruling that it lacked jurisdiction because the district court below had not yet issued a ruling. In other words, the appeals court said, go back downstairs and try again. The case now returns to U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who has a hearing scheduled for Tuesday and previously promised to rule “promptly” after arguments in downtown Los Angeles.
The Trump administration sued California and LA County on October 15 after they refused to set aside ballots returned by people on a federal non-citizen list and verify their citizenship before counting. Federal prosecutors called it a genuine emergency, writing that “every minute of processing that occurs without segregating the ballots of suspected non-eligible voters causes untraceable disenfranchisement and dilution of the votes of United States citizens.” That is a pretty straightforward argument, and the Ninth Circuit ruling on LA ballots shows just how complicated it has become to get any court to treat election security like the emergency the feds say it is.
One judge on the panel, Patrick Bumatay, dissented and agreed with the administration, writing that the federal government has “a sovereign interest in safeguarding federal elections and ensuring that the votes of noncitizens do not undermine our electoral results.” The majority, however, pointed out that part of the delay was the DOJ’s own fault, with Judge Mark Bennett writing that the administration was slow to file suit and slow to recognize how California processes millions of ballots at scale.
California Secretary of State records show federal officials claimed back in July that California had 19,000 non-citizens on its voter rolls. When the state asked for proof, according to the Secretary of State’s office, “They refused and provided California with nothing.” So the feds flagged the ballots, California said show your work, and the feds apparently left the homework at home.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, never one to miss a camera, called the ruling “a positive development and a welcome speed bump to Trump’s disgusting attacks on the Constitution and our country’s democracy.” He also urged Californians to vote early, use drop boxes, and, presumably, not worry too much about who exactly is filling those drop boxes. Attorney General Rob Bonta added that “all the evidence, counts, recounts, hand counts, audits, shows that voter fraud is exceedingly rare,” which is exactly what you would expect someone to say when the feds are asking to check the list.
Judge Carter, who previously dismissed a separate DOJ bid to force California to hand over its full voter registration list, will hear arguments Tuesday and is expected to rule quickly. The Trump administration still has its lawsuit alive and its case to make. California’s strategy so far has been to run out the clock, and for now, at least, the Ninth Circuit handed them a few more minutes on it.
