The Trump administration is seeking an emergency court order to prevent California from counting ballots associated with more than 20,000 people suspected of being noncitizens, arguing that the votes could become impossible to separate once they are mixed with other ballots.
First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli and Attorney General Todd Blanche are spearheading the Justice Department’s request to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. They want the court to require California to set aside the disputed mail-in ballots and confirm the voters’ citizenship before counting them.
“Every minute that goes by, American citizen votes are being diluted in the state of California,” Essayli said Thursday. “It’s an emergency, and we expect the courts to treat it as such.”
The DOJ says it has identified more than 20,000 people who are registered to vote in California, received mail-in ballots and are considered highly likely to be noncitizens.
Federal law bars noncitizens from voting in federal elections. The government also says some individuals have already faced criminal charges over alleged illegal voter registration and voting.
“We’re not asking California to take any drastic steps other than to sequester the ballots from the suspected noncitizens,” Essayli told Fox News. “We believe it’s at a minimum of 20,000. That’s the floor.”
The emergency filing says Los Angeles County has already processed more than 331,000 mail-in ballots.
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According to the government, once election workers remove ballots from their envelopes, it becomes impossible to link them to individual voters. That makes it essential, the administration argues, to separate potentially ineligible ballots before tabulation.
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The administration is asking the appeals court to direct California officials to segregate the ballots and verify citizenship before counting them. It is seeking a decision by Saturday, Oct. 24.
The lawsuit names California, Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean C. Logan as defendants. California and Weber oppose the request.
The appeal comes after US District Judge David O. Carter did not rule by the administration’s requested deadline on its emergency application.
The Justice Department contends that the lack of a ruling effectively denied its request for immediate relief.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has said California complies with all applicable federal election laws.
