A federal judge has denied an unprecedented, emergency request by the Department of Justice to segregate thousands of California ballots in the midterm elections.The Justice Department wants California election officials to stop processing ballots pertaining to 20,000 individuals that federal officials say are "likely" noncitizens.State and local officials in California have countered that the DOJ's list of "likely" noncitizens is unreliable, with a preliminary analysis by Los Angeles County showing that many on the list do not have active voter registrations.The officials also claim that setting aside ballots just days before Election Day, when voting and processing mailed ballots are already underway, would be unlawful and infeasible and would disenfranchise eligible voters.In his 26-page ruling issued Wednesday evening, U.S.
District Judge David Carter, a Clinton appointee, denied the Justice Department's request for a temporary restraining order to stop processing the ballots in question."Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch," he wrote.Carter also expressed concern about taking action that could disenfranchise eligible voters and create chaos."Once a vote is segregated, lasting harm has occurred," Carter wrote at the conclusion of his order."If the Executive can discount votes and threaten an ongoing election due to unproven allegations, then our democracy is in danger.
This Court declines to be a party to such process."The judge said that the federal government can address the issue by continuing to indict people for the crime of illegally voting as noncitizens.DOJ officials say in the last two months they have charged dozens of people for registering or voting without being a U.S.
citizen.The DOJ's lawsuit in California, which was filed Oct.15, is among a flurr...