9th Circuit blocks Trump move to hold 20,000 California mail ballots

A federal appeals court has blocked the Trump administration's attempt to pause the counting of approximately 20,000 mail-in ballots in California ahead of the November 3 midterm election.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling on Monday, denying the government's request to sequester the ballots. The administration had argued that the votes were cast by individuals who are likely non-citizens. However, the court found that the federal government failed to provide lower courts with adequate time to examine the legal merits of the claim.

In a 2-1 decision, the judges determined that the executive branch was overstepping its constitutional authority. Election administration is traditionally a state responsibility. Judge Gabriel Sanchez, writing for the majority, stated that the administration was asking a federal court to direct a state legislature on a matter within its own domain. He warned that granting the petition would create disorder and confusion for both voters and election officials.

The legal battle began on October 15 when the Trump administration filed a lawsuit against California. The filing occurred less than three weeks before the general election. The government sought an expedited decision from the appeals court, citing the proximity of the vote. The case is currently being heard in a lower court, with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday.

California is a state led by Democrats. President Donald Trump, a Republican, has frequently claimed that the state is prone to election cheating. California officials have challenged the administration's premise, arguing that the lawsuit interferes with the voting process. They questioned how the federal government identified the 20,000 ballots as belonging to likely non-citizens without revealing its methodology.

Lawyers for California Secretary of State Shirley Weber described the litigation in a court filing on October 20. They called the lawsuit a reckless political stunt at best. At worst, they argued, it threatens to disenfranchise thousands of Californians in this election cycle.

The Trump Department of Justice has filed similar suits in 30 states and Washington, DC, seeking access to voter rolls. The department argues that access to sensitive personal data is necessary to prevent fraud. The administration has lost 26 of those cases so far. Opponents in those courts have successfully argued that the requests could scare voters and disrupt state administration. The Trump administration has not won any of the 30 cases to date.

Experts note that non-citizen voting is rare in the United States. A July investigation by Reuters found only 129 cases where federal authorities charged non-citizens with illegal voting since 1996. Many of those charges stemmed from administrative errors or confusion over rules rather than fraudulent intent. Voting rights advocates have pointed to flaws in the administration's identification process, suggesting that eligible voters may be incorrectly flagged.

Immigration agents have been assigned to identify non-citizen voters, sometimes by visiting households to ask about residency status. Last week, the administration charged 28 immigrants in California with illegally voting. Reporting from the Los Angeles Times indicated that some accused individuals expressed confusion and maintained they never registered to vote. The administration's push follows Trump's history of citing election fraud to expand federal influence over voting processes, a strategy he used after losing the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden.