The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday rejected the Justice Department's request for California to
received in the midterm election.
asserted
California → reject → election
The panel's 2-1 ruling is the latest setback for the Trump administration's efforts to assert control over state-run elections.
asserted
ruling → assert → elections
The administration has alleged California sent ballots to some 20,000 people who may not be U.S. citizens.
uncertain
who → allege → people
It wants the state to set those ballots aside and not count them until citizenship can be verified.
asserted
citizenship → want → them
California officials say the list is highly unreliable and likely includes many people who are U.S. citizens.
asserted
who → say → people
A district court judge already
that request and warned that the Justice Department's demands could disenfranchise citizens.
uncertain
demands → warn → citizens
"As the district court found — and we discern no clear error — there is no feasible way to identify and segregate the ballots of specific individuals without potentially catastrophic effects on the entire system," the appeals court wrote.
asserted
court → find → system
Millions of people in California have already voted.
asserted
Millions → vote → California
The majority opinion was authored by Judge Mark J. Bennett, who was appointed by President Trump, and Judge Gabriel P. Sanchez, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden.
asserted
who → author → Biden
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.
asserted
Department → respond → ruling
Hundreds of thousands of ballots have already been processed.
asserted
thousands → process → ballots
Elections officials have said that processed votes are completely anonymized and can't be matched back to the voters who submitted them.
asserted
who → say → them
The ruling comes during broader federal scrutiny of local elections, with the Trump administration
in Alaska in a spoiler-candidate controversy.
asserted
ruling → come → controversy
The Justice Department has also provided a list of alleged noncitizen voters to officials in Washington state.
asserted
Department → provide → state
Earlier on Friday, a federal judge in Washington ordered the Trump administration to share the disputed list of names with lawyers for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and the UCLA Voting Rights Project.
asserted
judge → order → Rights
They want the list so they can examine who is on the list and assess its impact on eligible voters.
asserted
who → want → voters
It will be the first time that a nongovernment organization will have the opportunity to evaluate the merits of the list of some 20,000 names.
asserted
organization → have → names
Prosecutors with the Trump administration have argued that there is just as much to lose from noncitizens illegally voting, arguing that to tally those votes would dilute the voice of citizens.
asserted
tally → argue → citizens
The two groups sued the Department of Homeland Security in early October to prevent it from using federal immigration data to challenge state voter rolls.
asserted
groups → sue → rolls
The lawsuit cited examples in other states where the federal government's data has been proven to mistakenly include thousands of citizens.
asserted
data → cite → citizens
It argued that the data-matching methods risk disenfranchising or deterring citizens from voting.
asserted
methods → argue → citizens
On top of that, plaintiffs argued, the lists could disproportionately target naturalized citizens who are legally entitled to vote.
uncertain
who → argue → citizens
A coalition of unions on Friday also joined the growing list of groups challenging the federal government's efforts.
asserted
coalition → join → efforts
The unions, including the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, are asking a federal judge to temporarily block the Justice Department from demanding that local officials stop counting ballots and to drop threats to criminally prosecute officials who do not comply with their demands.
asserted
who → include → demands
The top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, has warned that "any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy."
asserted
who → warn → jeopardy
On Thursday the Associated Press obtained subpoenas issued to election officials in Los Angeles County.
asserted
Press → obtain → County
The subpoenas request any documents and communications related to letters sent in July and October by federal officials to state election officials outlining the allegations about noncitizen voters.
asserted
subpoenas → request → voters
They also seek any information about efforts to prevent noncitizen votes from being counted.
asserted
They → seek → votes
At least three L.A. County election officials have been asked to appear before a grand jury on Nov. 4, the day after the election.
asserted
officials → ask → election
The lawsuit accuses the Justice Department of issuing threats against election officials that could interfere with their ability to process votes.
uncertain
that → accuse → votes
It is unclear whether the Justice Department intends to bring criminal charges against anyone.
uncertain
Department → intend → anyone
The department does not typically subpoena people whom it regards as targets of a criminal investigation to appear before a grand jury.
asserted
it → subpoena → jury
The Aporia
