Justice Department appeals bid to block California ballots over citizenship checks

The Justice Department appealed to the 9th Circuit as it seeks to stop California from sending and counting mail-in ballots cast by voters it alleges are ineligible. The federal government’s case concerns a list of more than 20,000 people, while California officials are contesting the list and the department’s effort to obtain state voter rolls.

Federal attorneys sought an injunction barring California from sending and counting the ballots until citizenship is verified. The department argued that U.S. District Judge David O. Carter’s failure to issue a ruling by the requested deadline effectively denied that request.

The appeal therefore challenges the handling of the injunction request; it does not establish that the people on the federal list are noncitizens or that their ballots are unlawful. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli argued that citizen votes were being diluted in California. He also described the matter as an emergency in remarks reported by the New York Post.

That account says he made the comments at a news conference Thursday. The reported claim about dilution is the federal prosecutor’s position, not a finding by the court. The dispute is unfolding ahead of the midterm elections. ABC11 reported that California is fighting the Justice Department’s effort to obtain the state’s voter rolls in that context.

The Justice Department’s bid to access the rolls and its request to prevent ballot processing are related parts of the broader disagreement, but they are not identical measures. The ABC11 account also reported that federal officials announced charges against 28 people accused of illegally registering to vote and, in some cases, casting ballots in California elections.

Those accusations concern previous elections and do not establish that the people on the federal list of more than 20,000 are among those charged. The allegations remain allegations, rather than convictions reported in this account. California’s position includes opposition to the federal list and the Justice Department’s voter-roll demands.

ABC11 reported that a January ruling by Carter called those demands “unprecedented and illegal” and said the executive branch was infringing on states’ authority to administer elections. The ruling supplies a prior judicial critique of the federal effort, while the current appeal concerns the requested injunction over ballot handling.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said voter fraud is illegal and should be prosecuted. That position addresses prosecution of fraud; it does not, by itself, resolve whether California must provide the requested voter information or hold ballots while citizenship is checked.

The appellate court’s consideration of the Justice Department’s appeal will determine the next legal step in the dispute.