9th Circuit Rejects Trump DOJ Bid to Toss 20,000 California Ballots
Updated
Updated · CNN · Oct 25
9th Circuit Rejects Trump DOJ Bid to Toss 20,000 California Ballots
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Oct 25
Summary
A three-judge 9th Circuit panel denied the Justice Department’s emergency appeal to force California to set aside more than 20,000 mail ballots tied to people the government says are likely noncitizens.
A 2-1 majority said it lacked authority to intervene before the district court ruled, calling the claimed emergency partly “self-constructed” because the government delayed filing and seeking relief.
Judge Mark Bennett, a Trump appointee, joined Biden appointee Judge Gabriel Sanchez in the majority; Trump appointee Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented after an unusual Sunday Zoom hearing.
The case now returns to federal district court in California, where a hearing is scheduled for Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
The lawsuit, filed earlier this month, is part of the administration’s broader push to insert the federal government into state election administration and ballot counting.