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Follow-Up: Federal Judge Officially Closes California Ballot Segregation Lawsuit, Saying It Attempted to Disrupt an Ongoing Election

Tuesday, November 10, 2026 · California · GSM News

LOS ANGELES — U.S. District Judge David Carter on Tuesday, November 10, in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, officially ended the Trump administration Justice Department's ballot segregation lawsuit against California. After the Justice Department unilaterally withdrew its complaint in its entirety, the judge's order closed the case, and a hearing scheduled for November 13 was canceled.

The Justice Department sued California on October 15, demanding that about 20,000 mail ballots be set aside because federal prosecutors suspected, with little evidence, that they had been cast by noncitizens. After California refused to sequester the ballots voluntarily, the department sought emergency relief from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and from the U.S. Supreme Court, without success in either court. It then notified the court last Friday that it was dropping the case, saying that by the time of the scheduled hearing the challenged ballots would already have been commingled with lawful ones, making the relief it sought no longer available.

In his order, Judge Carter wrote that the lawsuit attempted to disrupt an ongoing election and create confusion and uncertainty for voters and election workers alike, and that the right to vote is sacred, as is trust in democracy. He had previously characterized the lawsuit as part of a broad, ongoing pattern of attempted election interference.

With the case closed, the Justice Department's emergency litigation over the roughly 20,000 California mail ballots is over, and the ballots are counted under California's existing procedures.

Related:

Follow-Up: 9th Circuit Rejects DOJ Emergency Appeal 2-1 Over 20,000 California Mail Ballots, Sending Case Back to District Court

(Source: U.S. District Court for the Central District of California)

Source: U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：加州 Santa Clara 县选民登记处官方选票投递箱实景（加州邮寄选票投递箱资料图）。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，作者 Yngvadottir。 / Photo: An official ballot drop box at the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters in California (file photo of a California mail ballot drop box). Via Wikimedia Commons, by Yngvadottir.

Story Timeline
  1. 2026-10-13Justice Department Gives California 48 Hours to Review Alleged Noncitizen Voter List
  2. 2026-10-15Follow-Up: DOJ Sues California, Asking Court to Block Counting of Mail Ballots From More Than 20,000 Alleged Noncitizen Voters
  3. 2026-10-16Follow-Up: DOJ Warns California and LA County Officials They Could Face Federal Liability Over Disputed Mail Ballots
  4. 2026-10-19DOJ 'Operation Protect the Vote': 28 Green Card Holders Charged in California with Illegal Registration and Voting; 11 Arrested
  5. 2026-10-20Follow-Up: DOJ Seeks Emergency Restraining Order to Stop California Processing Ballots From 20,000-Name List
  6. 2026-10-20Update: California Attorney General Asks Federal Court to Deny DOJ Bid to Set Aside 20,000 Ballots
  7. 2026-10-20Follow-Up: DOJ Acknowledges 20,000-Name Voter List May Include U.S. Citizens, Governor's Office Says
  8. 2026-10-21Judge Who Rejected DOJ Voter Roll Demand Takes Over California Ballot Case: David Carter Replaces Trump Appointee
  9. 2026-10-22Follow-Up: DOJ Takes California Ballot Case to the Ninth Circuit, Calling Judge's Inaction a Constructive Denial
  10. 2026-10-23Follow-up: Details Emerge in California Voter Cases: Most of the 28 Green Card Holders Charged Were Applying for US Citizenship
  11. 2026-10-24Follow-Up: DOJ Sends 48-Hour Ballot-Segregation Letters to 57 California Counties, Warning Officials of Criminal Liability as Counties Push Back
  12. 2026-10-24Follow-Up: Ninth Circuit Orders California to Respond by Noon Saturday to DOJ Emergency Request on Ballots
  13. 2026-10-25Follow-Up: California Voter-List Fight Escalates: LA County Sample of 200 Finds Over Half Cancelled or Inactive; Ninth Circuit Hears Case Sunday Afternoon
  14. 2026-10-25Follow-Up: 9th Circuit Judges Question DOJ Lawsuit to Set Aside California Mail Ballots, Citing Elections Clause
  15. 2026-10-26Follow-Up: 9th Circuit Rejects DOJ Emergency Appeal 2-1 Over 20,000 California Mail Ballots, Sending Case Back to District Court
  16. 2026-10-26Follow-Up: Newsom Calls Ninth Circuit Ruling in Voter Ballot Case a 'Positive Development'
  17. 2026-10-27Follow-Up: Federal Judge Hears Arguments in Los Angeles on Justice Department Bid to Block Counting of 20,000-Plus California Mail Ballots
  18. 2026-10-28Follow-Up: Federal Judge Carter Denies Justice Department Bid to Set Aside More Than 20,000 California Mail Ballots
  19. 2026-10-28Follow-Up: Judge Carter Denies DOJ Bid to Set Aside More Than 20,000 California Ballots: Governor Newsom and Attorney General Bonta Issue Statements
  20. 2026-10-29Follow-Up: Federal Grand Jury Indicts 3 Foreign Nationals Who Registered to Vote in California, Charging False Statements on Naturalization Forms
  21. 2026-10-30Follow-Up: DOJ Issues Grand Jury Subpoenas to California Election Officials Seeking Records on Detecting Unlawful Voting
  22. 2026-10-30Follow-Up: Ninth Circuit Again Rejects Justice Department Emergency Bid 2-1: More Than 20,000 California Mail Ballots to Be Counted as Usual
  23. 2026-10-30Follow-Up: Newsom and Bonta Respond to Ninth Circuit Ruling, Calling It the Trump Administration's Third Failed Attempt This Week to Interfere in California's Election
  24. 2026-10-31Follow-Up: Judge Orders Justice Department to Stop Threatening Election Officials Over Noncitizen Voter List
  25. 2026-10-31Follow-Up: Newsom Warns California's Chief Federal Judges of Ballot-Seizure Warrant Risk
  26. 2026-11-01Noncitizen Voter Lists Expand to Five States as Courts Twice Decline to Block California Ballots
  27. 2026-11-01Follow-Up: Federal Judge Bars Justice Department From Threatening Election Workers; Government Appeals
  28. 2026-11-02Follow-Up: Justice Department Urges Judge to Consider Contempt Over Voter List Analysis Finding Over 40% Not in California Voter File
  29. 2026-11-02Follow-Up: DOJ Asks Supreme Court to Order California to Set Aside Mail Ballots From More Than 20,000 Voters Pending Citizenship Verification
  30. 2026-11-02Follow-up: Newsom Details California Election Safeguards: Nearly $40 Million to Local Governments, New Felonies for Election Interference
  31. 2026-11-02Follow-Up: Federal Judge Orders Administration to Stop Demanding California Segregate Ballots of More Than 20,000 Voters, Finding Suspect List Flawed
  32. 2026-11-02Follow-Up: Supreme Court Denies DOJ Emergency Application: Mail Ballots of More Than 20,000 California Voters to Be Counted Under Existing Rules
  33. 2026-11-02Follow-Up: Six More Foreign Nationals in Los Angeles Charged with Illegal Voting and Lying on Naturalization Forms: Operation Protect the Vote Totals 34 Defendants
  34. 2026-11-02Follow-up: Newsom Warns in Video: Interfere With California's Election and Face Felony Prosecution; No Presidential Pardon Will Save You
  35. 2026-11-06Follow-Up: Justice Department Drops California Ballot Lawsuit; Bonta Says Federal Government Gave Up After Four Court Losses
  36. 2026-11-10Follow-Up: Federal Judge Officially Closes California Ballot Segregation Lawsuit, Saying It Attempted to Disrupt an Ongoing ElectionThis story
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