Ninth Circuit Blocks Trump Bid to Suspend 20,000 California Ballots

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected the Trump administration’s second attempt to suspend 20,000 mail-in ballots in California. The ruling came down on Friday, leaving fewer than four days until the November 3 midterm elections. The decision keeps the disputed ballots in the count while the legal challenge moves toward a final resolution.

The conflict began on October 12, when the Department of Justice sent California a list of 20,000 individuals it labeled as likely non-citizens. State officials refused to set aside the ballots without proof that the names were indeed foreign nationals. The administration sued on October 15 to prevent the counting of those specific envelopes.

In its majority opinion, the panel stated that the federal government’s request would violate the Constitution’s Elections Clause. Judges Mark Bennett and Gabriel Sanchez wrote that the move risked disenfranchising eligible voters and jeopardizing the entire tabulation process. The majority noted that the consequence was not just separating the ballots, but potentially canceling them and removing voters from the rolls.

Judge Patrick Bumatay, a Trump appointee, dissented. He described the administration’s petition as a reasonable request. The split decision highlights the internal division within the appellate panel regarding the scope of federal power in state-run elections.

The administration argues that nearly 20,000 foreign nationals received mail-in ballots in California. It contends that these votes violate federal law, which prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal elections. The Justice Department has pressed this claim in other states, including Nevada and Washington, where officials have found the data largely inaccurate.

In Nevada, state authorities said in September that the federal list erroneously identified citizens as non-citizens. According to a statement from those officials, not a single name on the Nevada list was correct. Similar doubts have emerged in California, where election officials have questioned the accuracy of the data provided by the federal government.

Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the lawsuit as a political maneuver. In a news release following the October 15 filing, he called it a desperate attempt to use the Justice Department to suppress California voters. Newsom argued the administration seeks to sow distrust and undermine the results in a state that elects 52 members of the House of Representatives.

The administration also charged 28 foreign nationals in California with election-related infractions last week. Some of the accused told the Los Angeles Times they had never registered to vote. The newspaper reported that some defendants shared names with eligible voters, suggesting the legal actions may have targeted the wrong people.

The Ninth Circuit had previously rejected an emergency petition from the Trump administration on Monday. The court said the government had not given lower courts enough time to review the matter. A lower court then ruled against the administration on Wednesday, prompting the second appeal that was decided this Friday.

The final tally for California’s 52 congressional districts will proceed as planned. The court’s decision stands as a temporary shield for the 20,000 disputed ballots until the November 3 election concludes and further legal reviews can take place.