DOJ Appeals California Ballot Case Before the Judge Has Even Ruled


The U.S. Justice Department has taken its California ballot fight to a federal appeals court — before the

trial judge overseeing the case has ruled on its emergency request.

The department filed a notice of appeal with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday, October 22, after U.S. District Judge David O. Carter did not meet a noon deadline the department had requested for a ruling on its bid to temporarily stop California from counting more than 20,000 mail-in ballots.

In its filing, the Justice Department acknowledged that Carter “has not ruled” on the request. It argued that, given what it called the “critical and exigent nature” of the case, the judge’s silence amounts to a “constructive denial” of its request for preliminary relief.

The move is an extraordinary procedural step. Appeals normally follow a ruling, not the absence of one, and the department is effectively asking the appeals court to intervene while the district court case is still pending.

The underlying lawsuit was filed one week earlier against California, Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan. It seeks to stop election officials from counting ballots belonging to more than 20,000 people whom federal agencies have identified as likely noncitizens, unless their citizenship can first be verified.

On Wednesday, the department asked Carter to rule by noon Thursday, claiming that “every minute” California continued processing ballots without segregating those belonging to federally flagged voters caused irreversible harm.

California and Los Angeles County have sharply disputed that premise and have asked Carter to dismiss the lawsuit entirely. They argue the Justice Department lacks standing and has no legal authority to use 18 U.S.C. § 611 — a criminal statute prohibiting noncitizens from voting in federal elections — to force state officials to change how they administer and count ballots.

The dispute is unfolding less than two weeks before the November 3 midterm elections, when control of Congress is at stake and California’s mail-in ballots are already being processed. Any appeals court action could determine whether the flagged ballots are segregated, set aside or counted as normal while the case continues.

Neither the Justice Department nor the court has indicated when the 9th Circuit might act. The district court case remains open, and the appeals filing does not itself stop California from counting ballots unless the appeals court orders otherwise.

Sources

Comments

Post a Comment