Election Law: 9th Circuit Blocks Trump Bid to Sequester 20,000 California Ballots

Roughly 20,000 mail-in ballots in California will not be sequestered ahead of the November 3 midterm election, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday. The decision denied a request from the Trump administration to pause the tabulation of these votes, a move the government argued was necessary to prevent non-citizens from casting ballots. The appeals court issued the ruling in a 2-1 decision, finding that the administration had not afforded lower courts adequate time to fully review the matter before the election date.

The Trump administration filed its lawsuit against the state on October 15, less than three weeks before the vote. The government contended that the identified ballots were sent to individuals it deemed "likely" non-citizens. However, officials have not publicly detailed the methodology used to create this list or determine the eligibility of the voters named on it. In his written opinion, Judge Gabriel Sanchez stated that the administration was asking a federal court to dictate a matter squarely within the state's traditional domain of election administration.

Sanchez warned that granting the petition would invite disorder and confusion for voters and election officials. He emphasized that election administration remains a state responsibility under the U.S. Constitution. The case now returns to a lower court, where a hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. The administration had sought an expedited decision from the appeals court, citing the imminent election date.

California officials have challenged the premise of the lawsuit. Shirley Weber, the state Secretary of State, said in a court filing on October 20 that the litigation is at best a reckless political stunt and at worst a threat to disenfranchise thousands of Californians. Weber's legal team framed the administration's actions as an effort to interfere with the state's voting process.

The broader push by the Trump administration includes lawsuits against 30 states and Washington, D.C., seeking access to voter rolls containing sensitive personal data. The Department of Justice has lost 26 of those cases so far. In the specific context of non-citizen voting, experts note that such occurrences are rare. A July investigation by Reuters found only 129 cases of non-citizens being charged with illegal voting by federal authorities since 1996.

Many of those historical cases involved administrative errors or uncertainty about voting rules rather than fraudulent intent. Last week, the administration charged 28 immigrants in California with illegally voting. Reporting by the Los Angeles Times indicated that some of the accused expressed confusion and maintained they had never registered to vote. Immigration agents under the Trump administration have been assigned to identify non-citizen voters, including through door-to-door inquiries about citizenship status.

The midterm elections will determine which party holds power in Congress. Republicans currently hold slim majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Experts project that the Democratic Party is on track to make gains that could flip one or both chambers. The administration's focus on election integrity has intensified in the lead-up to the vote, with Trump raising the prospect of non-citizen voting as a threat.