DOJ Orders California Counties to Sequester Ballots of Suspected Noncitizens; 9th Circuit Hears Case

6.2 · 8d ago · US

The Facts

  • The DOJ filed suit Oct. 15 against Los Angeles County and California's Secretary of State to block counting ballots of roughly 20,000 people it alleges are likely noncitizens. ✓4 · CBS News, NBC News, Fox News, Al Jazeera
  • On Friday, the Justice Department sent letters to California county election officials demanding they help identify suspected noncitizens on voter lists and set aside (segregate, not cancel) their mail ballots until citizenship is verified, with a 48-hour deadline. ✓3 · NY Times, CBS News, NBC News
  • The letters came from the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles, signed by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill (Bilal) Essayli, who said any election official who knowingly processes a noncitizen's ballot is opening themselves to legal jeopardy. ✓2 · CBS News, NBC News
  • The letter to San Bernardino County listed 1,133 people the DOJ calls likely noncitizens. ✓2 · CBS News, NBC News
  • The DOJ asked the 9th Circuit for emergency relief after U.S. District Judge David Carter did not rule by the DOJ's requested deadline; a district court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. ✓2 · CBS News, Fox News
Dive deeper · 8 more factsShow less
  • The 9th Circuit ordered California to respond by noon Saturday, then held a nearly two-hour oral argument on Sunday; the three-judge panel questioned the DOJ's legal arguments and the court's jurisdiction, and a ruling is pending. ✓2 · Fox News, Al Jazeera
  • Judge Mark Bennett, a Trump appointee, said the requested injunction appeared inconsistent with California law adopted under the Elections Clause. ✓2 · Fox News, Al Jazeera
  • California officials say county offices lack authority and access to federal records to verify citizenship, that the DOJ's data is unreliable, and that ballots already processed cannot be separated from their envelopes. ✓2 · CBS News, Fox News
  • Sen. Alex Padilla said the DOJ has provided no evidence of massive voter fraud and lacks authority to interfere. ✓2 · CBS News, NBC News
  • Judge Gabriel Sanchez questioned why the 9th Circuit should act before the district court rules; Judge Patrick Bumatay focused on noncitizen voting concerns. Fox News only
  • Earlier in the week, 28 people from the list of 20,000 were charged with illegally registering to vote; some were also charged with illegal voting and lying on naturalization paperwork. CBS News only
  • The DOJ has filed 31 lawsuits seeking unredacted state voter rolls and has lost 26, with no wins to date. CBS News only
  • More than 3 million ballots have been cast statewide, including over 500,000 in Los Angeles County, per figures cited in litigation. Fox News only

Context

The Justice Department escalated its effort to prevent California from counting ballots from people it suspects are noncitizens, sending letters to county registrars demanding identifying information and segregation of ballots. Data cited by CBS shows noncitizen voting is very rare and has not been shown to change election outcomes.

The parallel court fight is before the 9th Circuit, which heard argument Sunday and said it would rule as soon as possible, and before Judge David Carter, whose hearing is set for Tuesday. The midterm election is Nov. 3.

Conflicting Reports

  • Number of counties: NBC News reports letters went to 57 of California's 58 counties; CBS News reports at least 18 counties per the L.A. County registrar.
  • Essayli's first name: CBS and Fox give 'Bill'; NBC quotes the letter as signed 'Bilal'.
  • Ballots already counted: CBS reports over 330,000 mail-in ballots counted statewide per state filings; Fox reports 331,000 processed in Los Angeles County alone.
  • Timing of 9th Circuit request: CBS says Friday; NBC says Thursday.

How the Agent Panel Scored This

Independent AI personas each scored importance 1–10; the story's score is a trimmed mean (highest and lowest votes dropped). Vote spread: 1.

7 Policy Expert The DOJ sent formal letters demanding counties segregate roughly 20,000 suspected noncitizens' mail ballots with a 48-hour deadline, and a pending 9th Circuit ruling could imminently block ballot counting affecting millions, though much of the story is court argument and rhetoric.
7 Global Affairs Analyst The DOJ's concrete action of demanding counties segregate ballots of roughly 20,000 suspected noncitizens, with a pending emergency 9th Circuit ruling on ballots in a major state, is a significant federal-state election dispute affecting millions of voters, though it is a domestic legal matter rather than international.
6 Science & Tech Analyst The story reports concrete federal actions (DOJ demand letters ordering ballot segregation for roughly 20,000 suspected noncitizens, a pending emergency appellate ruling, and criminal charges against 28 people), which affect a major state's election administration, but the impact is contested and largely pending rather than immediate and widespread.
6 News Editor The story reports concrete actions, including DOJ letters demanding ballot segregation for about 20,000 suspected noncitizens and an emergency 9th Circuit proceeding with a pending ruling, which affect a large California electorate, though it remains a contested legal dispute rather than an enacted change.
6 Critical Reader The story reports a concrete DOJ action (letters demanding ballot segregation with a 48-hour deadline and a suit affecting roughly 20,000 voters) with pending court rulings, which is newsworthy and affects many California voters, but nothing has yet been enforced and the court outcomes remain unresolved.
6 Informed Citizen The DOJ letters demanding sequestration of ballots from roughly 20,000 suspected noncitizens in California are a concrete, ongoing action affecting a large election with 3 million ballots cast, but the pending court rulings and disputed data limit the immediate impact on ordinary voters.
6 Business Analyst The concrete actions are DOJ letters demanding ballot segregation for roughly 20,000 suspected noncitizens and a pending 9th Circuit ruling on emergency relief, which is significant for California's election administration and a major voting-rights dispute, but its impact is limited to a specific state's counties and the ruling is not yet issued.

Sources (6)

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