Judge blocks federal push to pause California ballot counting

Voters in California will see their ballots counted under standard procedures after a federal judge blocked the Justice Department from pausing the process. The department had asked a court to stop officials from processing ballots for 20,000 people. Federal officials described these individuals as likely noncitizens. This decision comes only days before Election Day.

U.S. District Judge David Carter issued his ruling on Wednesday evening. He is a Clinton appointee serving in federal court. His 26-page order denied the emergency request. The Justice Department sought a temporary restraining order. That order would have forced state and local officials to segregate specific ballots. Carter wrote that the federal government has never tried to force a state to abandon its election procedures on the eve of an election.

California officials argued the federal list was unreliable. Los Angeles County conducted a preliminary analysis of the data. That review found many people on the list did not have active voter registrations. State leaders also noted that pausing the count so late would create confusion. They argued it would disenfranchise eligible voters who had already cast their ballots.

Judge Carter expressed concern about the potential harm of segregating votes. He wrote that lasting damage occurs once a vote is set aside. He noted that the executive branch should not discount votes based on unproven allegations. The judge stated the court declined to participate in a process that threatens democracy. He pointed out that the federal government can still prosecute individuals who vote illegally.

This case is part of a wider series of legal actions by the Justice Department. The department filed its California lawsuit on Oct. 15. It has also acted in other states near Election Day. In Washington, federal prosecutors asked officials to review a list of 400 registered voters. In Alaska, the department filed a suit to stop the certification of Senate results if a specific candidate wins.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a motion to the court. He asked the judge to consider the timing of the federal demand. Bonta wrote that this litigation serves as a precursor to further interference. He urged the court to avoid degrading democratic values. The Justice Department expects to appeal the ruling. The case could eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

The department argued for urgency because ballots are currently being processed. Once mail ballot envelopes are verified and separated, voter confidentiality is protected. It becomes impossible to retrieve an ineligible ballot after separation. Federal prosecutors believe noncitizen votes dilute the votes of U.S. citizens. Audits and investigations show such voting is extremely rare.

Experts dispute the accuracy of the federal list. A Los Angeles county review found a large portion of the sampled individuals were U.S.-born. Nicolas Bartell, a senior official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, contested this in court filings. He said his office found none of those specific individuals were U.S.-born. He did acknowledge that four people might have a claim to citizenship. Kassra Oskooi, a political scientist at the University of Delaware, called the federal matching protocol likely to be unreliable.