Local Politics · Los Angeles County
9th Circuit Rejects DOJ Bid to Set Aside California Midterm Ballots
A federal appeals court on Friday rejected the Justice Department's request for California to set aside disputed ballots in the midterm election, affirming a district court ruling that warned the demands could disenfranchise citizens. The DOJ alleged approximately 20,000 people who may not be U.S. citizens received ballots and sought to exclude those votes until citizenship was verified; California officials called the list highly unreliable. In a separate development, federal prosecutors issued subpoenas to Los Angeles County election officials, with at least three asked to appear before a grand jury Wednesday, the day after the election. A coalition of unions including the AFL-CIO and AFSCME also filed suit challenging the DOJ's demands on local election officials.