US Justice Department sues to halt some California ballot counts
The US Justice Department sued California over voter rolls on 15 October, seeking to prevent the counting of mail ballots from people it alleges are noncitizens. State officials challenged the evidence and a 48-hour review demand. The dispute reached federal court ahead of the 3 November midterm elections, with citizenship status and ballot handling contested.
Geopolitics··Morning
Federal lawsuit seeks to set aside mail ballots
The US Justice Department sued California in federal court on 15 October over the state’s voter rolls. It seeks to prevent the counting of mail ballots from people the administration alleges are not US citizens. Around 20,000 registered voters are at issue. The action comes before the midterm elections on 3 November, bringing a dispute over voter eligibility into court while election preparations are under way.[1], [2]
The administration says noncitizens must be excluded from federal-election voter rolls. Its allegations concern the citizenship requirement, rather than a court finding that the people it identified were ineligible. The requested remedy would affect ballots from those named by federal authorities.[1]
California challenges the evidence and 48-hour deadline
Before suing, the department gave California 48 hours to remove the people concerned. Secretary of State Shirley Weber, the state’s chief election official, said her office had not received a verifiable list and the methodology needed to assess the allegations. She said citizenship could not be determined within that short period and that removing voters required information that officials could check. State officials also asked how names were selected and which documents supported the claims.[1]
Los Angeles election officials said they had not opened a portable drive supplied to them citing information-security concerns. As a result, they said they had been unable to verify its contents or the allegations attached to it.[1]
Election preparations continue amid the dispute
Governor Gavin Newsom opposed the federal administration’s action. State officials argued that incomplete or unverified information could affect voting rights. States must keep registration lists current while following federal election-law procedures. The disagreement therefore concerns both the administration’s citizenship claims and the process for reviewing the information before voting is completed. The lawsuit followed the earlier time-limited demand, marking the next step in that dispute. Filing it does not itself remove voters or grant the department’s request to halt counting their ballots.[1]
