A federal appeals court shut down President Trump’s attempt to block the counting of 20,000 California ballots the administration says belong to suspected noncitizens.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, said Mr. Trump’s team was straying beyond executive powers and rambling on California’s ability to run its own election.
The majority said Congress may have the power to intervene, but it has not done so and has not granted the executive branch the same.
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“We decline the United States’ invitation to contravene the Elections Clause by undermining the Constitution’s plain text,” the majority said in an unsigned opinion.
The ruling is the latest defeat for Mr. Trump’s last-minute effort to sequester the 20,000 ballots.
The federal government says it has reason to suspect those ballots were mailed to people who lack citizenship, yet still appear on California’s voter rolls.
The state says the federal government used faulty data to compile its list and that there is no mechanism for sequestering the ballots at this point.
In the majority in Friday’s ruling were Judges Mark J. Bennett, a Trump appointee, and Gabriel P. Sanchez, a Biden pick.
Judge Patrick J. Bumatay dissented, saying he believes the administration does have the power to enforce both state and federal laws that make it illegal for noncitizens to cast ballots.
He said sequestering the votes until California can investigate and verify the voters’ citizenship makes sense.
“This solution would not cancel any vote but would allow time to verify the eligibility of suspected noncitizens,” he wrote.
He said California was particularly “lax” in its attempts to block noncitizens.
Los Angeles County, for example, was unable to give any evidence that it attempts to verify citizenship and instead just accepts registrants’ say-so.
“Now California says it can do nothing to prevent illegal voting. That undermines the federal government’s interest in promoting election integrity and preventing the dilution of lawful votes,” he wrote.
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