Federal judge questions legal basis for California ballot lawsuit

The Department of Justice sued California on October 15 to force the state to discard mail-in ballots it believes were cast by noncitizens. A three-judge federal appeals panel heard oral arguments on this matter over the weekend, with Circuit Judge Mark Bennett signaling that the court may not support the government's position.

Bennett, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, told Department of Justice lawyer Matthew Donnelly on Sunday that the panel would issue a decision as soon as possible. During the rare weekend hearing, Bennett questioned how the court could grant an injunction that contradicts state law.

The judge cited the Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which grants states the authority to administer their own elections. "It seems to me that you want us to issue an injunction that is entirely inconsistent with the law that the California legislature has adopted pursuant to the Elections Clause," Bennett said. "How can we do that?"

The lawsuit is the latest move in a federal campaign to scrutinize voter rolls before the November 3 midterm elections. The Justice Department filed its complaint in California, a state with a strong Democratic voting history, asking courts to set aside thousands of mail-in votes. The filing references a list of 20,000 names that the administration identifies as likely noncitizens based on citizenship data.

President Trump has repeatedly claimed that noncitizens are voting in large numbers to help Democrats. He specifically criticized California after the state's primary elections earlier this year, where several Republican candidates did not perform as well as he had hoped. He wrote on social media that there was "BIG cheating by the Dumocrats in California" and announced that the U.S. Attorneys’ Office would investigate the state.

California officials argue the state already has strict safeguards to prevent noncitizen voting and that the federal government's data is flawed. Governor Gavin Newsom called the lawsuit a "sad, desperate attempt" by the administration to suppress voters just weeks before the election.

Voting rights advocates have noted that the administration has not explained how it compiled the list of 20,000 names, while whistleblower reports have questioned the accuracy of similar lists in the past. The November 3 elections will determine which party controls Congress, along with various state and local offices.