WASHINGTON — The Justice Department asked a federal appeals court on Thursday to intervene in its California ballot lawsuit, before the district judge overseeing the case has ruled at all.
According to Reuters, the department wants to temporarily block California from counting more than 20,000 mail-in ballots. The ballots belong to voters the Trump administration alleges are likely not U.S. citizens.
The department filed a notice of appeal with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter had not met a noon deadline the department set for a ruling on its emergency request.
In its filing, the department acknowledged that Carter “has not ruled.” It argued that his silence, given what it called the “critical and exigent nature” of the case, amounts to a “constructive denial” of preliminary relief.
The lawsuit itself was filed a week ago. The Justice Department sued California, Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan.
Federal officials want the flagged ballots set aside until each voter’s citizenship can be verified. Under California law, every registered voter is mailed a ballot, and the state mailed ballots on Oct. 1.
The department said Homeland Security Investigations compared voter-registration records with federal data and identified more than 20,000 people it believes are likely noncitizens. It sent California a list of names on Oct. 13 and asked the state to review it. According to the complaint, California did not do so.
“State-facilitated voter fraud is unacceptable in the United States of America.”
California has asked Carter to dismiss the case outright. State and county lawyers argue the department lacks standing. They also argue a criminal statute barring noncitizens from voting in federal elections, 18 U.S.C. § 611, gives the department no authority to tell state officials how to count ballots.
Weber rejected the federal demand in writing before the suit was filed. “I will not disenfranchise thousands of Californians—or order any county elections official to do so—based solely upon an unsupported and likely inaccurate ‘belie[f]’ that certain voters are ‘likely’ noncitizens,” she wrote.
Whether the 9th Circuit accepts the department’s argument that silence counts as a denial is still an open question. For now, Carter has issued no ruling, and California’s ballot processing continues ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
Also Read: Justice Department Sues California Over Alleged Noncitizen Voters
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