Justice Department appeals after court rejects California ballot challenge

The United States Department of Justice has asked a federal appeals court to quickly intervene and temporarily block California from counting up to 20,000 ballots belonging to individuals it alleges are likely noncitizens. ABC News and NPR both reported that the federal government filed a notice of appeal after a lower court judge denied the request. ABC News reported that the emergency request was filed with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday. [1][2][6][8][10]

The appeal follows a ruling by United States District Judge David O. Carter, who rejected the Department of Justice request to stop processing the disputed ballots. According to ABC News, the federal government argued in a late Wednesday court filing that immediate action is necessary due to ongoing ballot processing. As FTMQ Politics reported earlier, federal law prohibits noncitizens from registering to vote or casting ballots in federal elections. [1][2][6][8][10][14][15]

In a separate decision in Washington, Judge James Boasberg of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the federal government to provide details about letters sent to several states, Roll Call reported. The directives requested states to set aside ballots belonging to alleged noncitizens during upcoming elections. Beyond California, the order requires the Justice Department to reveal other states that received similar demands. [3]

Separately, the Justice Department stated in a court filing that employees and agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation will not act as poll monitors in the upcoming elections, according to The Hill. [4]