Appeals court rejects DOJ's demand for California to set aside disputed ballots

Oct 30, 2026 - 21:30

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The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday rejected the Justice Departments request for California to set aside disputed ballots received in the midterm election.

The panels 2-1 ruling is the latest setback for the Trump administrations efforts to assert control over state-run elections.

The administration has alleged California sent ballots to some 20,000 people who may not be U.S. citizens. It wants the state to set those ballots aside and not count them until citizenship can be verified. California disputes the accuracy of the list.

A district court judge already forcefully denied that request and warned that the Justice Departments demands could disenfranchise citizens.

As the district court found and we discern no clear error __there is no feasible way to identify and segregate the ballots of specific individuals without potentially catastrophic effects on the entire system, the appeals court wrote.