Appeals court declines emergency intervention in California ballot case

The 9th Circuit dismissed the Justice Department’s emergency appeal seeking to separate California mail ballots associated with more than 20,000 voters it alleges may be noncitizens. The 2–1 decision addressed jurisdiction, not the final merits of the lawsuit, which remains before a district court with an October 27 hearing scheduled.

• The appeals court ruled that the Justice Department had not given the district court enough time to consider its request. Judges Mark Bennett and Gabriel Sanchez formed the majority; Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented.· 1 source
• The October 15 lawsuit seeks to separate ballots received from people on the federal government’s list and withhold counting until citizenship is verified. The administration has not specified how many listed voters actually submitted ballots.· 1 source
• California and Los Angeles County dispute the list’s reliability and federal authority to require the proposed review. Los Angeles officials said a preliminary examination of 200 names found nearly 40% indicated US birth and 71.2% had no voting history.· 2 sources
• Justice Department officials said 28 people on the list had been criminally charged with illegal voting. Bumatay argued that intervention was necessary because ballots could no longer be traced once processed and mixed together.· 2 sources
• The district court hearing is scheduled for October 27, ahead of the November 3 midterms. Either side can seek appellate review after the district court acts.· 2 sources