Local Politics · Los Angeles County
9th Circuit Rejects Trump Bid to Set Aside 20,000 California Ballots Ahead of Nov. 3 Election
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday rejected the Trump administration's request to force California and Los Angeles County to segregate ballots from approximately 20,000 voters the Justice Department suspects may not be U.S. citizens. The majority ruled the federal government lacked authority to compel such action and questioned the accuracy of the underlying voter list. The decision upheld a Wednesday ruling by U.S. District Judge David Carter, who warned against coercing state election procedures on the eve of an election. A special master was appointed to evaluate the government's list, while separate cases in Oakland and San Jose addressed related investigative and prosecution threats.