A federal judge in Los Angeles was expected to decide Wednesday whether to grant the Trump administration’s request to order Los Angeles County to set aside nearly 20,000 mail-in ballots cast by voters the federal government alleges are “likely” noncitizens.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter held a three-hour hearing Tuesday and at times appeared skeptical of the federal government’s claims. The hearing came a day after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to intervene because Carter had not yet ruled on the request, leaving the case with the lower court.
The U.S. Department of Justice sued the state and Los Angeles County on Oct. 15 after election officials refused its request to set aside ballots returned by people on a federal list and verify their citizenship before counting the ballots.
Federal prosecutors reiterated Tuesday that they believe the voters were unlawfully registered based on what they described as “credible evidence.”
“We’ve given California and LA County a list of people who we believe are noncitizens on the voter rolls,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said. “Once they came into the knowledge of noncitizens, they need to do something.”
Essayli also claimed Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan had allowed the commingling of lawful and unlawful ballots. He also pointed to methods prosecutors used to support the federal government’s allegations.
But Carter appeared unlikely to grant the request, suggesting that the Justice Department pursue criminal charges instead of seeking to block the ballots from being counted.
“You’ve got a remedy, for goodness’ sake. Go out and indict,” Carter told the Justice Department, referring to a federal law that makes it a crime for noncitizens to vote in federal elections.
“This court believes it would be wise, that it would be wise, that any threats to state and county elected employees cease immediately,” Carter said, referring to a series of statements from Essayli warning election officials of potential criminal penalties if they continued counting ballots the federal government alleged were unlawful.
The judge pointed to Dec. 3, the date by which election results must be certified, as a deadline for resolving the issue, suggesting there was no immediate need for a last-minute temporary restraining order. He said he would issue a ruling Wednesday.
Michael Cohen, an attorney for the state, told the judge that Essayli’s office relied on “data and methods known to be unreliable.”
The 9th Circuit on Monday rejected the Justice Department’s attempt to bypass the lower court in a 2-1 ruling. The majority concluded that the appeals court lacked jurisdiction because Carter had not yet ruled on the administration’s request.
Gov. Gavin Newsom Monday called the appeals court ruling “a positive development and a welcome speed bump to Trump’s disgusting attacks on the Constitution and our country’s democracy.”
“Make no mistake: Trump’s assault on democracy won’t slow down,” Newsom said in a statement. “Each and every one of us can do something: participate in democracy, don’t become disillusioned. Vote early, go to a vote center, put your ballot in a drop box.”
Attorney General Rob Bonta also issued a statement saying President Donald Trump had overstepped his authority by seeking to interfere with the state’s administration of its elections.
“The U.S. Constitution gives states and Congress, not the President or the Executive Branch, the power to determine the time, place, and manner of elections,” Bonta said in a statement. “The court’s order serves as an important step in our efforts to protect Californians’ right to vote and our state’s authority to run fair and secure elections. All the evidence, counts, recounts, hand counts, audits, shows that voter fraud is exceedingly rare.”
According to the California Secretary of State’s office, federal officials claimed in July that California had 19,000 noncitizens on its voter rolls. But when the office asked for evidence supporting the claim, federal officials “refused and provided California with nothing.”
The Trump administration has long asserted that large numbers of noncitizens are casting ballots in California and elsewhere. However, it has not publicly provided evidence substantiating claims of widespread noncitizen voting.
