A Trump-appointed appeals judge questioned a DOJ bid to set aside California mail ballots linked to 20,000 suspected noncitizens; no decision has been issued yet

A Trump-appointed appeals court judge on Sunday questioned the Justice Department’s bid to force California to set aside mail-in ballots linked to around 20,000 suspected noncitizens, raising doubts over the Trump administration’s legal challenge ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.During a rare weekend hearing, two of the three judges on the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals appeared sceptical of the administration’s arguments, questioning the legal basis for its demand and whether the appeals court could intervene before a lower court ruling. The panel said it would try to deliver a decision as quickly as possible.The Justice Department wants California officials to separate ballots associated with people identified by the administration as likely noncitizens and prevent them from being counted until their citizenship status is verified.Trump administration’s push faces constitutional questionsJudge Mark Bennett, a Trump appointee, questioned whether the administration’s demand conflicted with the US Constitution’s Elections Clause, which gives states the authority to determine the time, place and manner of congressional elections.“It seems to me that you want us to issue an injunction that is entirely inconsistent with the law that the California legislature has adopted pursuant to the Elections Clause,” Bennett told Justice Department lawyer Matthew Donnelly, according to Reuters.The administration argued that California was causing irreparable harm by allowing suspected noncitizens to vote in violation of state law. Donnelly also contended that the lower court’s schedule was too slow, given that election officials were processing thousands of mail ballots daily.Judge Gabriel Sanchez, appointed by former President Joe Biden, questioned whether the appeals court had the authority to intervene before the lower court had ruled on the matter. A hearing in the district court has been scheduled for October 27.Judge Patrick Bumatay, another Trump appointee, said ensuring that only eligible citizens vote was in everyone’s interest and suggested that an emergency order could provide clarity.California challenges reliability of voter listThe lawsuit, filed by the Justice Department on October 15, alleges that California officials failed to comply with a 48-hour deadline to review the names flagged by the federal government.California has disputed the administration’s claims, arguing that its safeguards against noncitizen voting are robust and that the federal list contains unreliable information.An attorney representing Los Angeles County Clerk Dean Logan said a review of 200 records from the administration’s list found cancelled or inactive registrations, people with no voting history and individuals who appeared to have been born in the US.The county also warned that checking ballots against the list could impose a significant administrative burden and risk disenfranchising eligible voters.Midterm battle over election oversightThe dispute comes as Republicans narrowly control both chambers of Congress and Democrats seek to regain the House in the November midterms. California, a Democratic stronghold, holds 52 seats in the House of Representatives.The Trump administration has stepped up efforts to obtain voter-registration information from states, arguing that stricter checks are necessary to protect election integrity. Critics have accused it of overstepping federal authority.Noncitizen voting remains exceedingly rare. A Reuters investigation published in July found 129 cases in which noncitizens had been federally charged with illegal voting, with many cases appearing to involve confusion or administrative errors rather than intentional fraud.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.