Memorandum
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- Caroline Mercer via NYT - U.S.
- Date
- Filed
- Politics·3 min to read
- Re
Trump Administration Asks Appeals Court to Step Into California Mail Ballot Dispute
ReTrump Administration Asks Appeals Court to Step Into California Mail Ballot Dispute
The Trump administration has asked the Ninth Circuit to intervene in its lawsuit against California over more than 20,000 voters it alleges are noncitizens, as state officials challenge the federal list and the state's ballot-counting process.
The Trump administration is asking a federal appeals court to intervene in its lawsuit against California over mail ballots, escalating a dispute centered on a federal list of more than 20,000 people the government alleges are noncitizen voters. The administration wants the Ninth Circuit to act as state officials contest both the list and the state's handling of ballots in the case.
The case turns on whether California can count ballots cast by people the federal government identifies as alleged noncitizens. The administration is seeking to stop the state from counting those ballots, while California officials are fighting back against the federal list and the legal theory behind it. The appeal to the Ninth Circuit marks an attempt to move the dispute to a higher court as the underlying litigation continues.
The lawsuit has become a focal point in a broader national argument over election administration and voter eligibility. At issue is not only the specific ballots but also how federal and state authorities share responsibility for maintaining voter rolls and resolving questions about individual voters. The administration's move to the appeals court signals it wants faster or more definitive action than the lower court has provided so far.
California officials have disputed the federal government's characterization of the voters on the list, and the state has defended its process for counting ballots. The dispute places the state's election machinery under scrutiny at the same time that federal officials are pressing courts to impose limits on how ballots are handled. The Ninth Circuit, which hears appeals from federal courts across the western states, will now weigh whether to grant the administration's request.
The timing and scope of any appellate ruling could affect how quickly the case moves and whether the federal list carries legal weight in the state's ballot-counting process. For now, the litigation remains active on multiple fronts, with the administration pressing its claims in federal court and California resisting them. The outcome will be watched closely as a test of how courts handle federal challenges to state election procedures.
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