U.S. District Judge David O. Carter on Wednesday rejected the Justice Department's emergency request to force California to set aside mail-in ballots associated with more than 20,000 registered voters whose citizenship the Trump administration has questioned, ruling that the last-minute intervention would disrupt an election already underway.
asserted
intervention → reject → election
The over 20,000 voters identified by Department of Justice officials as "likely aliens" were designated as such after Homeland Security Investigations and federal partners "used multiple data-enrichment and verification methods" to flag potential non-citizens on California’s voter rolls.
asserted
Investigations → identify → rolls
California officials, however, disputed the list's accuracy, citing a preliminary review that identified U.S.-born individuals and voters with no voting history among those flagged.
asserted
that → dispute → those
Carter, a Clinton appointee, ruled that the Justice Department's last-minute effort to intervene in California's election violated constitutional and federal-law constraints, while questioning the reliability of the government's evidence that the flagged voters were noncitizens.
asserted
voters → rule → evidence
"The district court denied our emergency request to sequester ballots from 20,000 suspected noncitizens," First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.
asserted
Essayli → deny → Digital
"This ongoing emergency disenfranchises American citizens through dilution.
asserted
emergency → disenfranchise → dilution
The Solicitor General authorized an immediate appeal.
asserted
General → authorize → appeal
We filed our Notice of Appeal and will immediately seek an emergency order from the Ninth Circuit.
asserted
We → file → Circuit
"
The Trump administration has suffered a string of defeats in election-related cases in the lead-up to the midterm elections, raising questions as to whether the administration will be able to deliver on its promises of improved election integrity ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
asserted
administration → suffer → election
President Donald Trump and other administration officials have repeatedly raised concerns about widespread voter fraud in U.S. elections, though those claims have not been supported by evidence demonstrating fraud on such a broad scale.
uncertain
claims → raise → scale
California election officials argued that complying with the Justice Department's request would be virtually impossible because county election offices had already processed more than 500,000 ballots, separating them from identifying information and preventing officials from reliably linking those votes to individual voters.
asserted
offices → argue → voters
Carter warned that the requested intervention would "wreak havoc and disrupt the election that is already underway," though he noted that federal authorities were free to pursue individual voting fraud cases.
asserted
authorities → warn → cases
Experts were divided along ideological lines in the case.
asserted
Experts → divide → case
Hans von Spakovsky, an election expert at Advancing American Freedom, a Mike Pence-affiliated think tank, criticized California for refusing to comply with the DOJ’s request.
asserted
Spakovsky → affiliate → request
"It tells you something very revealing and unfortunately badly revealing about California officials that they don’t even want to check," von Spakovsky told The Center Square.
asserted
Spakovsky → tell → Square
"In California, for example, they have automatic voter registration.
asserted
they → have → registration
When you go in to get a driver’s license, they don’t ask you, ‘Would you also like to register to vote?’
asserted
you → go → you
The state of California just automatically registers you, and when you ask them, they say, ‘Well, it’s up to the individuals to tell us they’re not eligible to vote.’
asserted
they → register → us
"
Rick Hasen, a University of California, Los Angeles, election-law professor, meanwhile, called the Justice Department’s request a "total overreach of federal power," arguing that "the Constitution’s clear that states have the authority to run Congressional elections unless Congress passes a statute otherwise — and Congress didn’t do so here."
asserted
Congress → call → statute
The California governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday.
asserted
office → respond → Thursday
The Aporia
