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Courts & Legal Status: Denied 2-1; merits not decided

Appeals Court Refuses DOJ Bid to Freeze 20,000 California Mail Ballots a Week Before Midterms

By AFNS Research Desk · · 1 min read

Courtroom in the James R. Browning U.S. Courthouse, home of the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco
Photo: Sam Wheeler / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)

Status: Denied 2-1; merits not decided. The panel ruled only that DOJ's request came too early.

What happened

The Justice Department sued California over about 20,000 mail ballots it wants set aside, and it asked the 9th Circuit for emergency relief before the trial judge had ruled. On October 26 a three-judge panel turned it down 2-1 in an unsigned order. It is the administration's first attempt to stop a state from counting votes.

The majority and the dissent

The majority, Judges Bennett and Sanchez, said the request was premature with District Judge David Carter's hearing still pending. They said the "claimed emergency, at least in part, is a self-constructed one." Judge Bumatay dissented.

What's next

Judge Carter's hearing is set for October 27. With Election Day on November 3, the next moves are Carter's ruling and whether DOJ asks the full 9th Circuit or the Supreme Court to step in.

Related: DOJ's ballot fights in Washington, California and Alaska (Trump Administration desk).

Sources

  1. The Hill: Appeals court denies emergency election stay thehill.com
  2. AP: California noncitizen voting lawsuit apnews.com

See our sourcing & corrections standards.

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