9th Circuit Again Rejects DOJ Bid to Set Aside California Ballots
A 2-1 appeals panel calls the Trump administration's demand to set aside 20,000+ disputed ballots unconstitutional, days before the midterms.
Part of a larger narrative
Trump Administration Election Challenges
- UCLA analysis finds 42% of DOJ's noncitizen voter list doesn't match California rolls
- Supreme Court rejects Trump bid to block 20,000 California midterm ballots
- Trump DOJ issues grand jury subpoenas to California election officials
- Supreme Court declines to revive Biden-era deportation-pause rule
- Appeals Court Revives Trump DOJ's Power to Pressure Election Officials Before Midterms
What to know
- A Ninth Circuit panel voted 2-1 to reject the DOJ's emergency bid to set aside more than 20,000 California mail ballots tied to suspected noncitizens, calling the move plainly unconstitutional.
- It is the second time in roughly a week the appeals court has rebuffed the administration in this case; the dispute could still reach the Supreme Court.
- California says it is too late in the election cycle to alter ballot processing and that no federal law gives DOJ authority to demand the order; local officials say DHS's list includes citizens and unregistered people.
- The case is part of a wider DOJ campaign targeting voter rolls in Democratic-led states and threatening prosecution of election officials ahead of midterms Republicans are expected to lose at least one chamber in.
Bill Essayli First Assistant U.S. Attorney
Todd Blanche Attorney GeneralDavid Carter U.S. District Judge
Donald Trump PresidentCalifornia election officials Defendants
How it unfolded 3 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlespostscomments
-
3
Trump urges Montana voters to mail in ballots amid the fight
Even as his DOJ pressed to block California mail ballots, Trump told participants on a MAGA Inc. get-out-the-vote call to use mail ballots or vote in person on Nov. 3.
“Early voting is underway. If you have your mail-in ballot, walk in and do whatever you have to do, or you can show up on November 3rd.”
— Donald Trump -
first by Axios, 8d ago · also CNBC
1 more headline
-
C
An appeals court has rejected a Trump administration lawsuit demanding that California set aside the ballots of thousands of people it claimed could be noncitizens, setting up a possible Supreme Court showdown.
2 more of the top 3 · 10 posts in this stretch
-
You see we have these things called courts. Courts require a thing called evidence. No evidence, even if something may happen, no crime. And “feelings” don’t count as evidence. The party of “state’s rights” sure likes to shit on those rights when they think it’s convenient for them. And let’s be very, very clear here. The federal government has…
-
G
Trump’s blanched department of revenge, intimidation and assault will certainly ask the Supreme Court to rule over the weekend. They want the disruption more than anything. Appeals court rejects Justice Department request for California to set aside disputed ballots https:// apnews.com/article/california-…
-
-
2
9th Circuit again rejects DOJ demand to set aside ballots
A 2-1 panel declined to order California to set aside more than 20,000 disputed mail-in ballots, citing doubts about the DOJ's voter-matching list and the risk of disenfranchising eligible voters; the decision leaves state election procedures intact just days before the midterms.
“calling the notion plainly unconstitutional…”
— Ninth Circuit panel -
first by CBS News, 8d ago · also The Hill, NYT Politics, NBC News, Washington Examiner, Independent UK, Al Jazeera +14
10 more headlines
- Appeals court rules against Trump — again — on California ballots The Hill · 8d ago
- Appeals Court Again Rejects Trump Effort to Impound California Ballots The New York Times · 8d ago
- Appeals court again rejects DOJ’s bid to segregate over 20,000 alleged noncitizen ballots in California NBC News · 8d ago
- Appeals court rejects DOJ effort to set aside 20,000 mail-in ballots, teeing up Supreme Court gambit Washington Examiner · 8d ago
- Trump’s bid to toss 20,000 California ballots could ‘jeopardize’ midterm elections, appeals court warns Independent UK · 8d ago
- US appeals court again rejects Trump bid to set aside California ballots Al Jazeera · 8d ago
- Court rejects DOJ effort to block 20,000 California votes NY Post · 8d ago
- Appeals court rejects Trump bid to block California ballot count Honolulu Star-Advertiser · 8d ago
- Appeals Court Rejects DOJ Request For California To Set Aside 20,000 Ballots ZeroHedge · 8d ago
- Appeals Court Rejects Justice Department Request For California To Set Aside Disputed Ballots HuffPost · 8d ago
-
first by Mastodon, 8d ago · also Washington Times, LA Times California, LA Times, Yahoo
1 more headline
- Trump suffers another loss in effort to block California ballots Washington Times · 8d ago
-
M
🚨BREAKING: In a major win for voters, a federal appeals court rejected for a second time the Trump administration’s request to immediately stop California from counting ballots from 20,000 potential voters the DOJ alleges are “likely noncitizens.”
1 more of the top 2 · 3 posts in this stretch
-
D
🚨BREAKING: In a major win for voters, the 9th Circuit for a second time rejected the Trump administration's bid to disenfranchise 20k Californians it alleges are noncitizens. Despite the sequential losses, the DOJ is still expected to appeal to the Supreme Court.
-
- 3 days quiet
-
1
Appeals court first declines to intervene, remands case
The appeals court rejected the administration's request for immediate action and sent the suit back to the district court, which was set to hear it the following Tuesday.
“This is an emergency…”
— Justice Department, court filing · source -
first by ABC News, 12d ago · also ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos
-
-
background
DOJ escalates to Ninth Circuit after district judge delays ruling — After U.S. District Judge David Carter did not rule on the administration's timeline, the Justice Department filed an emergency appellate request; the Ninth Circuit ordered California to respond by noon Saturday ahead of a scheduled Tuesday hearing before Carter.
-
background
DOJ sues California over ballots sent to suspected noncitizens — First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli's office sued California, seeking an order preventing ballots returned by roughly 20,000 individuals identified via a federal data-matching program from being counted.
Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet
-
4 outlets Appeals court declines to rule on federal bid to set aside California ballots of alleged noncitizens
first by Orlando Sentinel, 12d ago · also Baltimore Sun, Mercury News, Toronto Star
-
first by Los Angeles Times, 12d ago · also LA Times California, LA Times
and 2 smaller pieces
What people are saying 6 voices from 3 sites · best of 13 · verbatim
- Nov 1
-
Well where's the evidence that they arent voting? And how convenient that the matter cant really be looked into. Just say you want illegals to vote, man. What's the big deal?
- Oct 31
-
Let’s do a reading comprehension check, what is the article stating overall about non citizen voting?
- Oct 30
-
G
🟠 UPDATE Federal Appeals Court Rejects DOJ Bid to Segregate Noncitizen Ballots in California The 9th Circuit Court explicitly ruled the petition to remove 20,000 ballots unconstitutional. 📰 https://www. aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/30/ us-appeals-court-again-rejects-trump-bid-to-set-aside-california-ballots?traffic_source=rss # USA # Geopolitics #…
-
S
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday rejected the Justice Department’s request for California to set aside disputed ballots received in the midterm election. https:// apnews.com/article/california-…
-
F
BREAKING NEWS: Appeals court rejects Justice Department request for California to set aside disputed ballots
-
G
Excellent news At least one branch of our government is working ( SCOTUS Not included )