A federal judge on Wednesday rejected an effort by the US Department of Justice to set aside the ballots of more than 20,000 California voters whom the department said might not be citizens. The judge described the move as a brazen attempt at pre-election “interference.”
The case caused an uproar ahead of the November 3 midterms, in which President Donald Trump’s Republican Party risks losing control of Congress. It appears to be another attempt to cast doubt on electoral results. Democratic Party leaders sued the administration over the request, accusing Republicans of aiming “threats and intimidation” at state and local officials before the vote.
Judge refuses to seize California ballots
US District Judge David O. Carter sided with the Democratic-led government of California and refused to order the seizure of the ballots. In his decision, he wrote that the federal government had never before, on the eve of an election, tried to coerce a state and local government into abandoning its own constitutional procedures.
Carter added that “constitutional rights and our democracy are at stake” and that “the public interest favors their protection.” He said people on California’s voter rolls must not lose a core right because of unfounded allegations.
Shrinking voter figures in California and Nevada
The federal government had earlier accused California of having 190,000 illegal voters on its books. It later revised that figure to 20,000 and, about 10 days before the ruling, filed an emergency lawsuit after early voting had begun to stop the state sending ballots to them.
A similar dispute in neighboring Nevada faded away. The administration had initially identified 16,000 non-citizen voters there, but after verification the number fell to 185 and then to zero.
Judge cites a broader pattern of interference
Carter wrote that the department’s actions were “indicative of a broad, ongoing pattern of attempted election interference by federal officials.” For months, Trump, who has never acknowledged his 2020 defeat by Joe Biden, has claimed there will be fraud in this year’s midterms.
Studies repeatedly show that while rare cases of voter fraud exist, such incidents are miniscule and do not influence election results.
