Judge Slams DOJ Lawsuit Over California Mail Ballots as Election Interference
A federal judge criticizes a DOJ attempt to isolate 20,000 California mail ballots, calling the move an tactic to create voter confusion.
POLICY WIRE — Washington, USA — A federal judge issued a sharp rebuke on Tuesday regarding a Justice Department lawsuit that aimed to compel California to isolate mail ballots from approximately 20,000 suspected noncitizens, labeling the action an attempt to sow chaos and disrupt the active election.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge David Carter followed the Trump administration’s decision to voluntarily drop the legal challenge against California state officials and Dean Logan, the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder and county clerk.
Carter noted that the litigation was designed to interfere with an ongoing election while generating uncertainty for both voters and those managing the polls. He emphasized that while the right to vote is sacred, maintaining public trust in democratic processes is equally vital.
The DOJ had originally initiated the suit on claims that over 20,000 individuals registered to vote in California were not actually United States citizens. The federal government sought a judicial mandate requiring election officials to set aside mail ballots linked to these specific suspected individuals.
The legal action was launched in mid-October, a period when California voting was already underway and hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots had been processed by local offices.
Judge Carter, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, denied the administration’s request to withhold the ballots until citizenship could be confirmed. After unsuccessful attempts to gain a similar order from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court prior to the Nov. 3 midterms, the DOJ informed the court on Saturday of its intent to dismiss the case.
A representative for the Justice Department stated that following the Supreme Court’s refusal, the government is considering various methods to protect American votes and prevent the potential dilution of votes by noncitizens.
The Trump administration argued that by the time of the scheduled hearing on Friday, California would have already merged the contested ballots with legitimate ones, making segregation impossible. This led them to conclude that the requested relief was no longer achievable.
In his brief order, Judge Carter formally terminated the case and removed the Friday hearing from the calendar.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)em>
