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Appeals court resists DOJ’s bid to immediately segregate 20k California ballots A federal appeals court appeared unlikely to immediately agree to the Trump administration’s bid to segregate 20,000 California ballots it says are likely noncitizen voters, expressing skepticism at a rare Sunday hearing that a trial judge needs to move quicker. “I don’t see how we have jurisdiction,” said U.S. Circuit Judge Mark Bennett. The Justice Department (DOJ) sued California earlier this month as the state rebuffed claims that it sent ballots to 20,000 likely noncitizens as part of its universal mail voting program. The DOJ wants the ballots segregated and verified before they can be counted. It’s one of multiple lawsuits the administration has launched in recent weeks as the midterm elections quickly approach. A trial judge is set to hold a hearing on Tuesday, but the DOJ says action is needed sooner, because ballots are already being submitted. Los Angeles County alone has already processed 331,000 mail ballots, court filings show. The DOJ declined to wait and has headed straight to a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. It agreed to convene on the weekend, but once underway, the administration faced an icy reception, particularly from Bennett and U.S. Circuit Judge Gabriel Sanchez. “It gave you the essentially the timing you wanted for a hearing,” Bennett said. Beyond timing, both Bennett and Sanchez raised concerns about the reliability of the administration’s list and whether it actually reflects the one California used to send out mail ballots this election cycle. “You were not able to explain who these third parties are that form some part in the chain of analysis over this list,” Sanchez pushed back. “And the reliability of the list — very much — your claims very much depend on the reliability of that list.” DOJ attorney Matthew Donnelly indicated the list was purchased from the state and supplied to the administration. To assuage any concerns, he pointed the judges to sworn declarations from Department of Homeland Security officials. Bennett was appointed by President Trump and Sanchez was appointed by former President Biden. The third judge on the panel, Patrick Bumatay, another Trump appointee, appeared the most sympathetic to the administration. Even as he warned on Sunday that a court intervention may lead to confusion among local officials, at turns, he pushed back on the notion that the administration’s arguments would unconstitutionally commandeer them to enforce federal regulations. “It’s not extraordinary to ask California to verify citizenship of a voter,” Bumatay said. “It is in the manner that the federal government is asking for here,” responded Sam Siegel, representing the state. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
document fetched 2026-10-26 02:57 · canonical https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/6171263-appeals-court-denies-emergency-california-hearing