A U.S. appeals court has ruled against President Donald Trump’s administration’s attempt to block California from counting certain mail-in ballots this election cycle.
In a ruling Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the government’s request to preserve about 20,000 mail-in ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
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The Trump administration had argued that the ballots were sent to people “likely” to be non-citizens.
However, it has not disclosed how the list was created or how it determined that the voters on the list were ineligible because of their citizenship.
In a 2-1 ruling, the appeals court said the Trump administration did not give lower courts enough time to consider the case. So he refused to stop California’s vote counting.
The court majority also emphasized that under the U.S. Constitution, election administration is the responsibility of the states.
Justice Gabriel Sanchez wrote in an opinion that the Trump administration “is asking federal courts to direct state legislatures directly on matters within a state’s traditional territory.”
Sanchez also warned that granting the Trump administration’s petition would “cause disorder and confusion for both voters and election officials.”
The Trump administration filed a lawsuit against the state of California on October 15, less than three weeks before the November 3 midterm voting.
California is a Democratic-led state, and Republican leader Trump has repeatedly made baseless claims that the state is prone to “rigging” elections.
The case is currently being considered in a lower court, with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
But the Trump administration asked the appeals court for a quick ruling, citing the proximity of Election Day.
Midterm elections are extremely important elections that determine which political party will hold power in Congress.
Republicans currently hold slim majorities in both chambers, but experts predict that Democrats are on track to flip one or both chambers and make significant gains.
In the run-up to the midterm elections, President Trump raised the possibility of non-referendum voting as a threat to election integrity.
But experts say such votes are rare. California officials have similarly questioned the administration’s claim that 20,000 votes went to “probably non-citizens,” arguing that the administration’s lawsuit is aimed at interfering with the voting process.
“At best, this lawsuit is a reckless political stunt,” lawyers for California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said in an Oct. 20 court filing. “At worst, it threatens to disenfranchise thousands of Californians in this election.”
President Trump’s Justice Department has sued 30 states and Washington, D.C., seeking full access to voter rolls containing sensitive personal data.
They argue that this information needs to be made public to prevent suspicions of voter fraud.
But the department has lost 26 of the lawsuits so far, and opponents say such tactics could scare voters and interfere with state election administration.
The Trump administration has yet to win any of the 30 lawsuits.
Despite Trump and his allies’ claims to the contrary, there are few instances of illegal voting, including by non-citizens. All 50 states in the United States prohibit noncitizens from participating in federal elections.
An investigation by the news agency Reuters in July found that since 1996, noncitizens have been charged by federal authorities with illegal voting in just 129 cases.
Many of those incidents involve mistakes, such as administrative errors or individuals not fully understanding voting rules, rather than fraudulent intent.
Voting rights advocates also point to flaws in the way the Trump administration identifies potential non-referendum votes, suggesting some voters could be disenfranchised as part of that process.
Immigration officials under the Trump administration have been tasked with seeking out noncitizen voters, sometimes knocking on doors to ask about the citizenship status of those inside.
Last week, the administration charged 28 California immigrants with illegal voting.
However, the Los Angeles Times reported that some of the defendants reacted with bewilderment to the accusations, claiming they were not registered to vote.
President Trump has a history of promoting false claims of election fraud to justify expanding the federal government’s influence over the voting process.
He lost re-election in 2020 to Democrat Joe Biden, but denied defeat and accused “fraud” of voting. In response to this claim, some Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2023, with the aim of stopping the election certification.
