Judge rejects federal plan to pause counting of 20,000 California ballots

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter blocked the Trump administration's attempt to stop California from processing the ballots of up to 20,000 voters. The ruling came on Wednesday as the state continued to count votes in the ongoing midterm election. Carter determined that the federal government's request would create unnecessary delays and confusion for election workers.

The federal government sued election officials in mid-October, claiming the state failed to review a list of 20,000 people suspected to be noncitizens within a 48-hour deadline. The Justice Department asked the court to require California to hold those specific ballots until immigration status was verified. Carter rejected this request, noting that more than 3.7 million people have already voted in the state, with over 500,000 votes already counted.

Carter warned that segregating the ballots now would force counties to develop new sorting methods, risking the disenfranchisement of many voters. He stated that the move would have the same effect as purging voters, which violates the National Voting Rights Act. This law prohibits changes to voter rolls within 90 days of an election. The judge described the federal demand as a forceful rebuke that would discount the votes of United States citizens.

The administration had previously sought a quick ruling from the appeals court before a scheduled October 27 hearing in the district court. That higher court rejected the request for expedited review. Carter also dismissed the Justice Department's argument that California was impeding federal law enforcement. He pointed to a recent case where prosecutors arrested 28 noncitizens who had voted or registered illegally, showing the government could enforce laws without pausing the count.

This legal defeat is part of a wider push by the Republican administration to increase federal oversight of state-run elections. The Justice Department filed a similar request this week in Washington state for hundreds of suspected noncitizen voters. Another lawsuit in Alaska seeks to delay vote certification if the Republican Senate incumbent does not win. All three states have races that will determine the balance of power in Congress.

Bill Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney, argued on Tuesday that the federal request was designed to safeguard the elections. He maintained that holding a ballot does not prevent it from being counted later. Essayli described the process as preserving the status quo and preventing the election from being affected by illegal ballots. Federal prosecutors did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday evening.