Judge Rejects DOJ Bid to Block California Mail Ballots
The Facts
- U.S. District Judge David Carter on Wednesday rejected the Department of Justice's bid to stop California from counting mail ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters the department claims are likely noncitizens ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms.
- In a 26-page decision, Carter wrote that such a move "would wreak havoc and disrupt the election that is already underway" and undermine California's right to administer elections in the state. More than 3.7 million Californians have already voted.
- The Justice Department appealed the ruling and said it would seek an emergency order from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, said ballot processing disenfranchises citizens through dilution.
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The Spin
Democratic narrative
A federal government that tries to pull ballots from an election already underway, on a list its own lawyers call a floor and local officials say includes citizens and inactive registrations, is laying groundwork against results it fears. Elections belong to the states, and a judge who refuses to rewrite the rules mid-vote is defending voters of every party.
Republican narrative
Every ballot cast by a noncitizen cancels the vote of an American, and a state that mails a ballot to every registered voter owes citizens an honest check of its rolls. California would rather fight verification than do it, and a ruling that leaves the ballots in the count means who voted may never be answered. Election integrity cannot depend on a state’s willingness.
