Appeals court rejects DOJ bid to set aside 20,000 California ballots
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Answer first: A federal appeals court on Friday rejected the Justice Department's emergency request to force California to set aside mail ballots tied to more than 20,000 voters the Trump administration suspects are noncitizens. The 2-1 ruling keeps California's election procedures intact just days before the midterms.
Key points
- Court: Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 2-1 decision on October 30
- Majority: cited the lower court's finding that the DOJ's process for identifying suspected noncitizens was "not credible"; warned of "catastrophic change" and a "material risk" of disenfranchising eligible voters
- Dissent: Judge Patrick Bumatay argued counting suspected noncitizens' votes dilutes citizens' votes
- Next: the administration can appeal to the Supreme Court; the midterms are days away
Why it is trending
Selection basis: the day's #1 query on Google's U.S. trending feed ("ncaa football today") was a recurring schedule/utility lookup, so we took the next real news topic, "juez" — Spanish-language searches surged as AP and other outlets reported the ruling in the DOJ-California ballot fight. The case affects how ballots are handled in the country's most populous state days before Election Day.
Timeline
- Mid-October: DOJ sued California for refusing to segregate ballots it said were sent to suspected noncitizens
- Thursday: a district court denied the injunction, finding the federal law DOJ relied on did not supersede state law
- Friday: the Ninth Circuit rejected the emergency appeal 2-1
- Coming days: possible Supreme Court appeal; Election Day on November 3
Confirmed / not confirmed
Confirmed: The appeals court's 2-1 rejection, the roughly 20,000-voter scale of the request, and the dissent by Judge Bumatay (AP, Axios, CBS News).
Not confirmed: The administration's underlying claim that the listed voters are noncitizens — courts so far have found the identification process not credible, and no evidence of widespread noncitizen voting has been presented.
What to watch
Whether the administration files a Supreme Court appeal before Election Day, and how California counties proceed with ballot processing under the current ruling.
Sources
- AP 'Justice Department loses an appeal for California to set aside disputed ballots' 2026-10-30
- Axios 'Court denies DOJ request to set aside ballots from 20,000 California voters' 2026-10-30
- CBS News 'Appeals court rejects DOJ request to have California set aside disputed ballots' 2026-10-30