Judge rejects Trump effort to block California ‘noncitizen’ ballots

What the report says

A US federal judge has rejected a Trump administration request to stop California from counting mail ballots linked to a list of about 20,000 alleged noncitizens, a move sought just days before the midterm elections. The ruling, issued Wednesday by US District Judge David Carter, keeps California’s election process in place while the Justice Department pursues its broader challenge. Carter said the federal government’s late intervention conflicted with constitutional principles that leave primary control of elections to the states.

The Justice Department filed its lawsuit on October 15 and quickly appealed the ruling to the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals. The case is part of a wider push by the Trump administration to look for alleged noncitizen voting, with more than 100 subpoenas reported across at least 13 states. Those requests have targeted state and local election officials and, according to reporting cited by Al Jazeera, may be aimed at identifying voters the administration believes should not be on the rolls.

The dispute matters because it comes immediately before an election in which control of Congress is at stake. Legal experts quoted in the report say evidence of noncitizen voting is limited, while critics warn that flawed data could wrongly ensnare eligible citizens. California has said its election safeguards are strong and that the Justice Department relied on questionable information. The case also reflects a broader legal fight over how far the federal government can go in policing voter lists and election administration.