A federal appeals court on Monday denied an emergency request from the U.S. Justice Department to block California election officials from counting approximately 20,000 ballots cast by voters whose citizenship status the Trump administration has questioned. The three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, consisting of two judges appointed by President Trump and one by President Biden, ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the request because a lower district court had not yet ruled on the matter.

An unsigned order issued by the court, joined by Judges Mark J. Bennett, a Trump appointee, and Gabriel P. Sanchez, a Biden appointee, granted Los Angeles County’s request to dismiss the appeal. The court criticized the Justice Department for “failing to allow the district court adequate opportunity” to consider its request before seeking relief through an emergency appeal. The judges characterized the administration's claimed urgency as partially self-inflicted, citing delays in filing suit and in understanding California’s election laws.

Both Bennett and Sanchez wrote separate concurring opinions indicating they would have denied the administration’s request on substantive grounds even if jurisdiction were proper. Sanchez expressed concern that imposing federal demands on California's election officials so close to an ongoing election would disrupt the state's election process, create confusion, and divert resources. Bennett raised constitutional questions, arguing that the Elections Clause reserves authority over election administration to Congress and the states, not to the executive branch, and noted the administration failed to present a feasible plan to implement its sought remedy without causing “catastrophic consequences.”

In dissent, Judge Patrick J. Bumatay, also a Trump appointee, argued that the federal government has a legitimate interest in protecting the integrity of federal elections, including preventing noncitizens from voting. He contended that the court had jurisdiction and that the Justice Department was within its rights to ask the court to bar the state from processing ballots it believed were cast by noncitizens until citizenship could be verified.

The dispute centers on whether courts should require California officials, including Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan, to segregate and halt the counting of ballots flagged by the Justice Department as associated with voters of questionable citizenship. The Trump administration warned that continuing to count these ballots causes “irreparable harm” because once ballots are removed from mail envelopes or cast in person, there is no reliable way to trace or separate them later. More than 3 million ballots have already been cast statewide for the November 3 midterm election, including over 500,000 in Los Angeles County.

California officials and their attorneys argue that the administration’s demands are constitutionally flawed, impossible to implement on such short notice, based on unreliable data, and would severely disrupt election operations. California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the ruling an important affirmation of the state's authority to run fair, secure elections. Governor Gavin Newsom welcomed the decision as a rebuff to what he called attacks on democracy but warned such challenges are ongoing.

A hearing is scheduled Tuesday before U.S. District Judge David O. Carter in Los Angeles to consider whether the flagged ballots may be processed and counted. Carter, appointed by President Clinton, previously rejected a related Trump administration request earlier in the year to obtain California’s full voter rolls, citing concerns about election integrity and legality.

The case highlights ongoing tensions between federal election enforcement efforts and states’ rights to manage elections, particularly amid claims of widespread voter fraud tied to noncitizen participation, which California officials and some federal judges have questioned.