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Federal Appeals Court Rejects Trump Administration Challenge to California Ballots
Federal Appeals Court Rejects Trump Administration Challenge to California Ballots
A federal appeals court has rejected the Trump administration’s emergency request to set aside approximately 20,000 California mail-in ballots tied to voters whose citizenship the federal government has questioned.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that it could not intervene at this stage because the federal district court had not yet ruled on the Justice Department’s request. The underlying lawsuit remains ongoing, with a district court hearing scheduled for Tuesday, October 27.
The Justice Department argues that California should set aside ballots associated with people it believes may be noncitizens until their citizenship can be verified. California officials have challenged the reliability of the federal government’s list and argued that the requested action could prevent eligible citizens from having their votes counted.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta welcomed the appeals court decision, defending the state’s election procedures and criticizing the administration’s effort to intervene in the process.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department plans to deploy approximately 1,000 election monitors to polling locations nationwide for the November midterm elections. The department says its monitoring efforts are intended to help ensure compliance with federal voting laws.
The plan has drawn concern from voting rights advocates, who warn that monitoring efforts could raise questions about voter intimidation. In response, Democratic groups are training volunteers to observe polling locations and identify potential disinformation, deepfakes and activity they believe could interfere with voting. The White House has said it does not plan to send federal law enforcement agents to polling places.
With Election Day approaching on November 3, the California lawsuit and the debate over federal election monitoring are adding to national discussions about voting access, election oversight and ballot security.
By: NBC Palm Springs
October 27, 2026
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