Judge rejects federal bid to hold California ballots

U.S. District Judge David Carter denied the Department of Justice's emergency request to stop processing thousands of California ballots. The ruling, issued Wednesday evening, rejects the federal government's bid to segregate votes from individuals the DOJ believes are likely noncitizens. Carter, a Clinton appointee, wrote that the federal government has never before sought to coerce state and local election procedures on the eve of an election.

The Justice Department filed its lawsuit on Oct. 15, asking officials to pause processing for 20,000 specific voters. The department argued that ballots are already being processed and that once signatures are verified, the ballots are separated from their envelopes. This separation makes it impossible to retrieve an ineligible ballot later, the prosecutors claimed. They also stated that votes by noncitizens dilute the votes of U.S. citizens.

State and local officials opposed the move, arguing that setting aside ballots days before Election Day would be unlawful and infeasible. Los Angeles County officials said the DOJ's list is unreliable. A preliminary analysis by the county found that many people on the list do not have active voter registrations. State Attorney General Rob Bonta wrote in a court motion that the litigation is a precursor to further interference. He urged the court to avoid the chilling degradation of democratic values.

The dispute over the list's accuracy has become a central point of contention. USCIS senior official Nicolas Bartell told the court that his office's review found none of the sampled individuals were U.S.-born. However, he acknowledged that four of them might have a claim to U.S. citizenship. Kassra Oskooi, a University of Delaware political scientist acting as an expert witness for voting rights groups, countered in a declaration. Oskooi stated that he believes the USCIS matching protocol is likely to be unreliable.

This case is part of a series of actions the Justice Department has taken in states close to Election Day. On Monday, federal prosecutors asked Washington state officials to review a list of 400 registered voters the DOJ believes are likely noncitizens. Last week, the department filed a lawsuit in Alaska seeking to stop the state from certifying results in its Senate race if the Republican incumbent loses due to votes for a similar-named candidate.

Judge Carter expressed concern that segregating votes could cause lasting harm to eligible voters. He noted that if the executive branch can discount votes based on unproven allegations, the democracy is in danger. The judge said the federal government can address the issue by continuing to indict people for illegally voting as noncitizens. DOJ officials said they have charged dozens of people in the last two months for registering or voting without being U.S. citizens.

The Justice Department is expected to appeal the decision. The matter could eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court. Carter's 26-page order concludes that the court declines to be a party to a process that threatens an ongoing election.