Appeals Court Keeps 20,000 CA Ballots
Federal judges ruled the White House failed to prove it needed to pause counting for suspected noncitizens.
By Javier Sanders ·
California voters will keep their ballots in the count after a federal appeals court blocked a White House bid to halt processing. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that the administration did not show that blocking 20,000 specific ballots was clearly required by law during an active election. The decision keeps the state’s current verification process in place for the 2026 general election.
The dispute began when federal prosecutors issued criminal grand jury subpoenas to three Los Angeles County election officials. Those subpoenas demand the officials appear in court the day after the election. The Trump administration then moved to stop the state from mixing the ballots of citizens and suspected noncitizens while officials verify eligibility.
A three-judge panel handled the case. The panel included two appointees of President Trump and one appointee of President Biden. They voted 2-1 to deny the administration’s request. The majority consisted of Judge Mark J. Bennett, a Trump appointee, and Judge Gabriel P. Sanchez, a Biden appointee.
The majority opinion stated that the U.S. Constitution gives the state and Congress the power to decide how elections are run. The judges argued that allowing the administration to misuse federal statutes to prescribe how California processes ballots would override the plain and manifest dictates of the Constitution. They noted that Congress has not exercised its specific power to override California’s established laws for challenging ballots or removing ineligible voters.
The majority wrote that if the United States believes different procedures are necessary for vote-by-mail ballots, it should take that suggestion to Congress, not the courts. They also cited federal law that prescribes sweeping changes to voter lists 90 days prior to an election. The judges pointed to the suspect reliability of the administration’s lists of purported noncitizens as a reason to maintain the 90-day quiet period.
Judge Patrick J. Bumatay, the other Trump appointee on the panel, dissented. He argued that his colleagues erred in denying a basic request to ensure only citizens are voting. Bumatay described the federal remedy as modest, noting that it would not cancel any vote but would allow time to verify the eligibility of suspected noncitizens. He stated that both the district court and the appeals court denied this reasonable request.
The ruling stands as of Friday. The 9th Circuit denied the request for extraordinary relief for the second time. California election officials will continue their current process for the 20,000 ballots in question.
