Judge Blocks Trump Bid to Split California Mail Ballots

More than 20,000 registered Californians may see their mail ballots excluded from the count if federal prosecutors succeed in their legal challenge against the state. U.S. District Judge David Carter rejected the Trump administration’s bid to force election officials to separate these specific votes.

The ruling arrived less than one week before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. These contests will decide control of both the House and Senate. The Justice Department sued California, Secretary of State Shirley Weber, and Los Angeles County election official Dean Logan earlier this month. The federal government demands a 48-hour review of a list of suspected non-citizens before their ballots are counted.

Carter, appointed by former President Bill Clinton, issued a 26-page decision on Wednesday. He stated that the requested intervention conflicts with constitutional principles granting states authority over election conduct. The judge warned that allowing the separation could enable either political party to disrupt elections for political purposes. He noted that the move might deprive more than 20,000 registered voters of their rights.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Carter questioned why prosecutors waited until the eve of the election to act. He pointed out that returned ballot envelopes contain identifying information that could support post-election prosecutions. He described the proposed manual separation of ballots during the voting period as a major alteration of standard election procedures.

The administration argues that counting ballots cast by non-citizens dilutes the power of citizen votes. Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, stated the government is not seeking to cancel ballots but to ensure public confidence. He noted that both federal and California law bar non-citizens from voting. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 on Monday that Carter had sufficient opportunity to consider temporary relief.

California officials labeled the lawsuit politically motivated. Deputy Attorney General Anne Bellows warned that the order would disrupt operations and risk disenfranchising voters. State lawyers questioned the accuracy of the federal list, suggesting it relied on outdated registration data. Los Angeles County lawyers said manually checking envelopes against the list could not be completed by the end of the election period.

A county review of 200 records found that more than half involved canceled or inactive registrations for which no ballot was mailed. Just over 38% of that sample listed the United States as their birthplace. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services disputed those findings. Agency official Nicolas Bartell said immigration records showed none of the 200 people were born in the U.S., while acknowledging roughly 189 records on the larger list had minor discrepancies.

California began mailing ballots in early October. More than 3.5 million mail ballots have been returned statewide. Los Angeles County has processed over 550,000 of those ballots. The dispute reflects the administration’s effort to expand federal control over elections, following Trump’s repeated allegations that Democratic-led states maintain non-citizens on voter rolls.