Judge blocks DOJ ballot halt

U.S. District Judge David Carter denied the Department of Justice an emergency order to stop California from processing ballots for 20,000 people. The federal government argues these individuals are likely noncitizens. State and local officials in California oppose the move. They say the DOJ list is unreliable and that pausing processing now would disrupt the election.

The Justice Department filed its lawsuit on October 15. It asked for a temporary restraining order to segregate the ballots. Carter, a Clinton appointee, issued a 26-page ruling on Wednesday evening. He rejected the request. He noted that the federal government had never before sought to coerce state election procedures on the eve of an election.

California officials point to a preliminary analysis by Los Angeles County. The review found many people on the DOJ list do not have active voter registrations. State Attorney General Rob Bonta warned the court about the timing of the suit. He described the litigation as a precursor to further interference in the state.

Carter expressed concern that segregating votes could disenfranchise eligible voters. He wrote that once a vote is segregated, lasting harm occurs. He argued that if the executive branch can discount votes based on unproven allegations, democracy is in danger. He stated the court declines to be a party to such a process.

The judge said the federal government can still prosecute noncitizens who vote illegally. DOJ officials say they have charged dozens of people in the last two months. They claim these individuals registered or voted without being U.S. citizens. The department argues that noncitizen votes dilute the votes of citizens.

The Justice Department is expected to appeal Carter's decision. The case could reach the U.S. Supreme Court. The DOJ argues the issue is urgent because ballots are already being processed. Once signatures are verified on mail ballot envelopes, the ballots are separated to protect confidentiality. This makes it impossible to retrieve an ineligible ballot later.

The accuracy of the DOJ's list remains disputed. A Los Angeles County analysis of a small sample found a significant portion of listed individuals recorded as U.S.-born. USCIS senior official Nicolas Bartell contested this in court filings. His office's review found none of those specific individuals were U.S.-born. However, he acknowledged four might have a claim to citizenship.

The DOJ is not the only federal actor involved in election disputes near Election Day. Federal prosecutors asked Washington state officials on Monday to review a list of 400 registered voters. The DOJ also filed a lawsuit in Alaska. That suit seeks to stop the state from certifying results in its Senate race if a Republican incumbent loses to a longshot candidate with a similar name.