Court rejects DOJ effort to block 20,000 California votes

A federal appeals court has rejected the Trump administration’s latest bid to block California election officials from processing more than 20,000 ballots flagged by the Justice Department over suspected noncitizen voters.The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals shot down the DOJ’s emergency request, leaving the disputed mail-in ballots in play after a Los Angeles federal judge rejected the administration’s initial attempt to have them set aside earlier this week.The ruling marked another blow to President Trump’s escalating effort to challenge California’s voter rolls just days before Election Day.“Because Congress has not exercised the specific power granted to it under the Elections Clause to override California’s established laws for challenging ballots or removing ineligible voters, the State Legislature’s statutory scheme remains the only method to do so,” the appellate court said.US District Judge David O.Carter, a Bill Clinton appointee, had criticized the DOJ’s lawsuit in denying the restraining order Wednesday and said election officials have until Dec.

3 — the date by which election results must be certified — to resolve the issue, suggesting there was no need for an emergency injunction.Carter wrote that by moving to have ballots sequestered, the Trump administration embarked on “a broad, ongoing pattern of “attempted election interference.”The DOJ disagreed and turned to the appellate court immediately, hoping for a different outcome.The matter is urgent, they said.“Every minute that goes by, American citizen votes are being diluted in the state of California,” First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said at a news conference last week.

“It’s an emergency, and we expect the courts to treat it as such.”California Democrats praised the Friday ruling and criticized President Trump.“Trump and his administration just lost for the third time this week in their desperate and dangerous attempts to meddle in the California el...