The Radical Reading Room

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter heard arguments in Los Angeles on Oct. 27 over the Justice Department’s request for an emergency order requiring California to set aside ballots from about 20,000 people the department suspects are noncitizens. The ballots would be held until voters’ citizenship could be verified. Carter said he would rule on the request the following day.

Carter pressed the government on the legal basis for sequestering ballots and raised concern that the requested change could disenfranchise eligible voters while election processing was underway. He pointed to criminal prosecution as a traditional remedy for suspected unlawful voting, rather than stopping ballots from being counted. The request would temporarily prevent officials from processing or counting the flagged ballots.

DOJ attorney Bill Essayli argued that the federal government’s intervention was needed to address suspected illegal voting. California officials disputed the department’s approach, questioning how it identified the people on its list and warning that setting aside ballots could affect eligible voters. The judge’s questions left the request unresolved at the end of the hearing; he did not issue an immediate ruling.

Carter also indicated interest in a later hearing with expert testimony from both sides. He noted California’s Dec. 3 deadline for certifying election results as a date relevant to resolving the dispute. The department is seeking a temporary restriction while citizenship is checked, not a final determination that every person on its list is ineligible. The court’s ruling on the emergency request was expected Oct. 28.