9th Circuit rejects DOJ bid to set aside California ballots

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday denied the Department of Justice's emergency request in a 2-1 decision, allowing California to count about 20,000 ballots flagged as potentially cast by noncitizens without first verifying citizenship.

California officials dispute the federal list's reliability, saying it could include U.S. citizens, and noted some ballots have already been anonymized, making it impossible to match them to individual voters. The majority cited practical risks of separating ballots after election processing had begun.

Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented, arguing federal law prohibits noncitizen voting and that California should verify citizenship. The ruling leaves a lower court decision rejecting the DOJ's request in place, part of a broader fight between the Trump administration and states over election administration days before the November 3 midterm.