{"id":18015,"date":"2026-10-29T16:07:43","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T08:07:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=18015"},"modified":"2026-10-29T16:07:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T08:07:53","slug":"judge-declines-to-block-california-from-counting-alleged-noncitizen-voters-ballots-in-doj-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=18015","title":{"rendered":"Judge declines to block California from counting alleged noncitizen voters\u2019 ballots in DOJ lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/\u5c4f\u5e55\u622a\u56fe-2026-10-29-160639-1024x683.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18016\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/\u5c4f\u5e55\u622a\u56fe-2026-10-29-160639-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/\u5c4f\u5e55\u622a\u56fe-2026-10-29-160639-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/\u5c4f\u5e55\u622a\u56fe-2026-10-29-160639-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/\u5c4f\u5e55\u622a\u56fe-2026-10-29-160639.png 1185w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A federal judge in California on Wednesday refused the Trump administration\u2019s request to segregate 20,000 mail-in ballots from individuals it alleges are noncitizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis request violates longstanding constitutional principles mandating that states have control over their elections,\u201d U.S. District Judge David Carter wrote. \u201cIf Plaintiff\u2019s last-minute request for relief were granted, either party could create chaos for their own political purposes to disrupt the election process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What the administration was asking for, he wrote, \u201cwould wreak havoc and disrupt the election that is already underway, create a chilling effect on election workers and voters alike, and discount the votes of United States citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also questioned whether the government\u2019s claims of over 20,000 noncitizen voters were accurate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGiven the vagueness of Plaintiff\u2019s descriptions of its procedures and the unreliability of its similar claims in other states, the Court cannot conclude that Plaintiff\u2019s process is credible,\u201d Carter wrote, pointing to similar allegations the administration had made in a neighboring state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn Nevada, DHS initially identified up to 15,903 registered voters as noncitizens based on \u2018high-confidence\u2019 matches, but later reduced that number to 6,218, and then to 185 after conducting its manual review. Nevada officials later confirmed that all 185 individuals were citizens,\u201d the judge wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHad Nevada officials accepted Plaintiff\u2019s allegations there as true, 185 citizens would have been deprived of their vote. This Court will not deprive Californians who have met the requirements for voter registration of their fundamental right because of Plaintiff\u2019s unfounded allegations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Justice Department filed the suit Oct. 15, seeking a court order that the state \u201cset aside vote-by-mail ballots from persons identified by the Federal Government likely to be noncitizens\u201d and not count them until their citizenship is confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The department said it had compiled \u201ca list of over 20,000 names of people\u201d the government \u201cbelieves are likely non-citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Attorneys for the state countered that the government\u2019s numbers are unreliable. In a July letter, it put the number of suspect voters at 190,000 and has refused to release information about how it has generated its lists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhere is the evidence?\u201d an attorney representing California, Christina McCall, said at the hearing Tuesday, calling the government\u2019s allegations \u201cvague\u201d and \u201cnot reliable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another attorney for the state, Anne Bellows, told the judge \u201cthe stakes here are enormous,\u201d arguing the government was trying to force California to initiate an unclear investigation into the citizenship of tens of thousands of people without any clear standards shortly before an election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It \u201cis a recipe for disenfranchisement,\u201d Bellows said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli told Carter: \u201cWe\u2019re not telling California what they have to do. We\u2019re telling them what they can\u2019t do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Essayli said that once the state is made aware of potential noncitizens on its voter rolls, \u201cthey need to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat they cannot do is do nothing and proceed to count the votes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The judge said that if the government believes there is noncitizen voting, which is a crime, it should bring charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDon\u2019t you have the power of indictments?\u201d Carter asked Essayli. \u201cYou brought 28 indictments,\u201d he said, referring to a recent announcement by prosecutors of people who have been found to have voted illegally in California in recent years. \u201cYou may find others. You have the right to bring that indictment against them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou\u2019ve got a remedy, for goodness\u2019 sakes,\u201d Carter said. \u201cGo out and indict.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Essayli on Wednesday bashed the judge\u2019s ruling and said an appeal is underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEvery day, more ballots are processed by election officials. This ongoing emergency disenfranchises American citizens through dilution,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cThe Solicitor General authorized an immediate appeal. We filed our Notice of Appeal and will immediately seek an emergency order from the Ninth Circuit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Justice Department has already been to a federal appeals court once in the case. It filed a motion to expedite the case to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week, after Carter did not act on its request to rule in the matter by Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The appeals court held an emergency hearing Sunday and ruled against the administration 2-1 on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The majority found it did not have jurisdiction because Carter had not yet ruled, but it found the government\u2019s \u201cclaimed emergency\u201d was at least partly \u201ca self-constructed one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAt least part of the delay here is attributable to the United States\u2019s own delay in filing suit,\u201d Circuit Judge Mark Bennett wrote in the ruling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe United States has taken issue with California\u2019s voter rolls since at least July 16, when it sent a letter to California\u2019s secretary of state citing its \u2018[p]reliminary\u2019 analysis of California\u2019s voter rolls. And neither California\u2019s law permitting the processing of ballots twenty-nine days before an election, nor its law providing for the issuance of mail-in ballots to registered voters, is new,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Circuit Judge Gabriel Sanchez wrote in a concurring opinion that the government was asking the \u201ccourt to dictate to a state legislature a matter squarely within the state\u2019s traditional domain, upending the state\u2019s policies in this regard and inviting disorder and confusion for voters and election officials alike.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The dissenting judge, Trump appointee Patrick Bumatay, wrote, \u201cWe should\u2019ve granted the federal government relief \u2014 federal law precludes California from commingling ballots likely cast by aliens with legitimate ballots, because it encourages and induces illegal voting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A federal judge in California on Wednesday refused the Trump administration\u2019s request to segregate 20,000 mail-in ballots from individuals it alleges are noncitizens. \u201cThis request violates longstanding constitutional principles mandating that states have control over their elections,\u201d U.S. District Judge David Carter wrote. \u201cIf Plaintiff\u2019s last-minute request for relief were granted, either party could create [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":18016,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[4454,2072,1904],"class_list":["post-18015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-plaintiff","tag-their","tag-voters"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Judge declines to block California from counting alleged noncitizen voters\u2019 ballots in DOJ lawsuit - LISTEN WORLD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=18015\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Judge declines to block California from counting alleged noncitizen voters\u2019 ballots in DOJ lawsuit - LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A federal judge in California on Wednesday refused the Trump administration\u2019s request to segregate 20,000 mail-in ballots from individuals it alleges are noncitizens. \u201cThis request violates longstanding constitutional principles mandating that states have control over their elections,\u201d U.S. District Judge David Carter wrote. \u201cIf Plaintiff\u2019s last-minute request for relief were granted, either party could create [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=18015\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-29T08:07:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-29T08:07:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/\u5c4f\u5e55\u622a\u56fe-2026-10-29-160639.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1185\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"790\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gina\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/\",\"name\":\"LISTEN WORLD\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=18015#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/\u5c4f\u5e55\u622a\u56fe-2026-10-29-160639.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/\u5c4f\u5e55\u622a\u56fe-2026-10-29-160639.png\",\"width\":1185,\"height\":790},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=18015#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=18015\",\"name\":\"Judge declines to block California from counting alleged noncitizen voters\u2019 ballots in DOJ lawsuit - LISTEN WORLD\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=18015#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-29T08:07:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-29T08:07:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/3dda624796e926f7ee7a99098759bf4d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=18015#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=18015\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=18015#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u9996\u9875\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Judge declines to block California from counting alleged noncitizen voters\u2019 ballots in DOJ lawsuit\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/3dda624796e926f7ee7a99098759bf4d\",\"name\":\"Gina\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/672126d0325ed2a94002961601231f015f9619a0fff98ea74f3f8869988e885f?s=96&d=wavatar&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/672126d0325ed2a94002961601231f015f9619a0fff98ea74f3f8869988e885f?s=96&d=wavatar&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gina\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?author=8\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Judge declines to block California from counting alleged noncitizen voters\u2019 ballots in DOJ lawsuit - LISTEN WORLD","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=18015","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Judge declines to block California from counting alleged noncitizen voters\u2019 ballots in DOJ lawsuit - LISTEN WORLD","og_description":"A federal judge in California on Wednesday refused the Trump administration\u2019s request to segregate 20,000 mail-in ballots from individuals it alleges are noncitizens. \u201cThis request violates longstanding constitutional principles mandating that states have control over their elections,\u201d U.S. District Judge David Carter wrote. \u201cIf Plaintiff\u2019s last-minute request for relief were granted, either party could create [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=18015","og_site_name":"LISTEN WORLD","article_published_time":"2026-10-29T08:07:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-10-29T08:07:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1185,"height":790,"url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/\u5c4f\u5e55\u622a\u56fe-2026-10-29-160639.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gina","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/","name":"LISTEN WORLD","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=18015#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/\u5c4f\u5e55\u622a\u56fe-2026-10-29-160639.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/\u5c4f\u5e55\u622a\u56fe-2026-10-29-160639.png","width":1185,"height":790},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=18015#webpage","url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=18015","name":"Judge declines to block California from counting alleged noncitizen voters\u2019 ballots in DOJ lawsuit - LISTEN WORLD","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=18015#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2026-10-29T08:07:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-29T08:07:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/3dda624796e926f7ee7a99098759bf4d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=18015#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=18015"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=18015#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u9996\u9875","item":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Judge declines to block California from counting alleged noncitizen voters\u2019 ballots in DOJ lawsuit"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/3dda624796e926f7ee7a99098759bf4d","name":"Gina","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/672126d0325ed2a94002961601231f015f9619a0fff98ea74f3f8869988e885f?s=96&d=wavatar&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/672126d0325ed2a94002961601231f015f9619a0fff98ea74f3f8869988e885f?s=96&d=wavatar&r=g","caption":"Gina"},"url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?author=8"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18015"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18017,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18015\/revisions\/18017"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}