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Appeals court rejects DOJ lawsuit targeting thousands of California ballots

By Tierney Sneed

A federal appeals court has again rejected a Justice Department demand that election officials set aside ballots from 20,000 people the administration claims, using a controversial data matching program, could be noncitizens.

The vote count was 2-1.

California is one of several Democratic-led states that have been targeted with claims from the administration that election officials have not done enough to take non-citizens off the voter rolls, as Republicans prepare for an election that expected to cost them control of at least one chamber of Congress.

DOJ has also threatened criminal prosecutions of election administrators and recently sent grand jury subpoenas to officials in California.

Several courts now are scrutinizing the process the Department of Homeland Security went through to assemble lists of non-citizens they say are registered to vote in California and other states.

Local officials who have had a chance to begin analyzing the names say that the lists include people who are not registered to vote in their jurisdiction, have had their registrations suspended, or who have indicators in their records of being citizens.

California also argues it’s far too late in the election cycle, with ballots having gone out nearly a month ago to be upending its election procedures. Even if it wasn’t, California says there is no federal law or Constitutional authority giving the administration the right to ask for the court order it is seeking.