Follow-Up: Federal Judge Hears Arguments in Los Angeles on Justice Department Bid to Block Counting of 20,000-Plus California Mail Ballots
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California — U.S. District Judge David Carter heard arguments in Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 27, on the Justice Department's request to block California from counting mail ballots cast in the November 3 midterm elections by more than 20,000 registered voters the department alleges are likely noncitizens. A day earlier, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the department's emergency bid to halt the counting before the district court could rule, sending the case back to the district court, as this site reported. The Justice Department filed the lawsuit on October 15, an escalation of the Trump administration's push for a larger federal role in elections ahead of the midterms, with Republicans seeking to retain control of both houses of Congress. At the hearing, California attorney Anne Bellows said the state's safeguards against noncitizen voting are robust, that the department's assertions relied on "mysterious database methods," and that complying would risk disenfranchising eligible voters, citing Supreme Court precedent that federal courts should not change election rules close to an election. Justice Department lawyer Bilal Essayli countered that the federal request was narrow and aimed at election integrity, and asked the judge to rule swiftly at the end of the hearing. The U.S. Constitution assigns election administration to the states, with a limited federal oversight role; whether a temporary restraining order issues awaits the court's ruling.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于洛杉矶的联邦大楼（资料图）。Carol M. Highsmith 摄，Public domain，来源：Wikimedia Commons / Photo: Federal buildings in Los Angeles (file photo). By Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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