A federal appeals court ordered California to respond by noon Saturday to the Trump administration's emergency request involving roughly 20,000 mail-in ballots sent to people the Justice Department suspects are noncitizens ahead of the midterm elections.The U.S.Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued the order late Friday after the DOJ filed an emergency request earlier in the day seeking a ruling by Saturday.The Justice Department sought emergency relief from the appeals court after U.S.
District Judge David Carter did not rule by a deadline previously requested by the department.The DOJ is asking California election officials to set aside ballots associated with individuals on its list while their eligibility is reviewed, rather than allowing the ballots to be processed alongside other votes.DOJ GIVES CALIFORNIA 48 HOURS TO REVIEW LIST OF POSSIBLE NONCITIZENS ON VOTER ROLLSCalifornia Gov.Gavin Newsom speaks about the "Election Rigging Response Act" at a press conference at the Democracy Center, Japanese American National Museum on August 14, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)In its emergency filing, the DOJ emphasized the urgency of its request."This is an emergency," the filing, submitted by Attorney General Todd Blanche and First Assistant U.S.
Attorney Bill Essayli, stated."Every minute of processing that occurs without segregating the ballots of suspected non-eligible voters causes untraceable disenfranchisement and dilution of the votes of United States citizens," the filing continued.Despite the Ninth Circuit's order, a hearing before Judge Carter remains scheduled for Tuesday, according to Fox News' Matt Finn.It remains unclear whether the appeals court will rule before that hearing.BLANCHE WON'T RULE OUT DOJ BLOCKING ELECTION CERTIFICATION IN 'DOOMSDAY' SCENARIOBill Essayli, the first assistant U.S.
attorney for the Central District of California, appears at a news conference at the Spring Street Courthouse on Aug.13, 2...