US Justice Department appeals ruling on California ballot count

The US Justice Department has filed an appeal with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals seeking to halt California from counting up to 20,000 ballots it alleges were sent to non‑citizen voters.

In a late‑Wednesday filing, the department argued that an urgent ruling is needed because “irreversible ballot processing” is continuing. The appeal follows a U.S. District Judge David O. Carter’s order rejecting the department’s request to segregate the disputed ballots from the state’s vote count.

Judge Carter, a Clinton‑appointed judge, said the Justice Department’s demand violated the National Voting Rights Act, which bars changes to voter rolls or election procedures within 90 days of an election. He also questioned the reliability of the department’s list, noting that both sides agree some citizens may have been mistakenly included.

California’s early voting has been underway for weeks, with over 500,000 votes already processed in Los Angeles County alone. The Justice Department maintains that preventing fraudulent voting is in the public interest, while county officials argue that delaying tabulation could disenfranchise voters.

The appeal marks the second time the 9th Circuit will consider the case, after an earlier panel deemed it premature to intervene before a lower‑court ruling.

Source: ABC News. Photo: Abhishek Navlakha / Pexels.