US appeals court again rejects Trump bid to set aside California ballots

What the report says

A US federal appeals court has again turned down a Trump administration effort to stop roughly 20,000 California mail-in ballots from being counted, according to Al Jazeera. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued the decision on Friday, just days before the November 3 midterm elections, and said the request would conflict with the US Constitution and could wrongly keep eligible voters from participating.

The dispute centers on the administration’s claim that the ballots were sent to “likely non-citizens.” Al Jazeera reported that the White House and the Justice Department filed suit in California on October 15 after first sending state officials a list of names on October 12. California refused to set the ballots aside without proof that the people on the list were not citizens, and state leaders said no such evidence had been provided.

The appeals court majority said the government’s proposal would amount to more than ballot segregation, because it could lead to ballots being canceled and voters removed from registration rolls. Two judges formed the majority, while a third judge dissented and said the request was reasonable.

The case highlights a broader fight over election administration and voter trust in the final stretch before a closely watched midterm in a Democratic-leaning state that will elect 52 House members. Al Jazeera also noted that claims of widespread non-citizen voting are generally considered rare, and that similar lists sent to other states have previously been described by officials as inaccurate.