A federal judge in Los Angeles has rejected a request by the Trump administration to force California election officials to segregate and not count mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters. The Department of Justice alleged that these individuals were likely non-citizens.
The request followed the delivery of a USB drive to election officials in Los Angeles and Sacramento containing the names of approximately 20,000 people the federal government claimed were not U.S. citizens. There are more than 23 million registered voters in California, and non-citizen voting is considered extremely rare.
US district judge David Carter blasted the unprecedented and legally thin demand, stating that forcing the state to set aside the ballots would wreak havoc on the midterm elections that are already underway. The judge expressed skepticism toward the bid, noting that it appeared designed to cast doubt over the results of the elections.
Although the judge declined to block the counting of the ballots for the November 3 midterm elections, the case is not yet over and will likely be appealed.