Court Again Rejects DOJ Ballot Bid

What happened

Updated Oct 30, 5:01pm ET

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals again rejected the Justice Department’s emergency request to segregate disputed California ballots. The 2-1 ruling refused to stop California from counting ballots linked to more than 20,000 people the administration suspects may be noncitizens. The DOJ sued in mid-October to have those ballots set aside until citizenship checks were done, after millions of Californians had already voted before the November 3 midterm election. The department said separation would preserve time to verify eligibility before ballots were mixed. California officials said the list was unreliable and segregation could disrupt voting. The DOJ could seek Supreme Court relief or full 9th Circuit review.

How the left told it

Left-leaning outlets framed the ruling as a check on federal efforts to intrude into state-run elections. The New York Times cited the federal appeals court panel’s view that the demand would “trample California’s authority”. Al Jazeera pointed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’s warning that Trump’s request could “risk disenfranchising eligible voters”.

How the right told it

Right-leaning outlets framed the ruling around practical ballot problems, a legal setback, and the administration’s verification rationale. The Washington Examiner emphasized unreliable federal lists, uncertain authority, and risks of disenfranchising eligible citizens or disrupting ballot counts. Newsmax described the decision as another setback for the administration’s court effort to change state election procedures. Just the News noted that officials sought citizenship verification before counting disputed ballots, not automatic disqualification.