Federal Judge Keeps 20,000 California Ballots in Count Despite Trump Bid

Voters in California can keep the 20,000 ballots that are currently in the processing queue. A federal judge rejected the Trump administration's urgent request to pause the count of these specific ballots, which the government says are from people who are not citizens.

Judge David O. Carter issued the ruling on October 29. He stated that the government's request violates long-standing constitutional principles that give states control over their elections. Carter noted that the election is already in motion. He warned that stopping the process now would cause major disruption.

The Justice Department sought a temporary restraining order. The agency argued that counting these ballots would dilute the power of votes cast by U.S. citizens. Carter disagreed. He pointed out that the federal law the department cited does not allow the government to force states to separate ballots or stop processing them.

Carter also took issue with the Justice Department's threat to arrest election workers. He said that if the executive branch can dismiss votes based on unproven claims during an active election, the democracy is at risk. The judge described the move as a way to wreak havoc on the process.

The Justice Department has announced it will appeal the decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. California officials dispute the department's list of likely non-citizens. They argue the list is unreliable and that setting aside ballots at this stage would be unlawful.

More than 3.7 million people have already voted in California. The state mails ballots to all 23 million registered voters. The Justice Department is making similar requests in other states as part of its effort to address alleged illegal voting.