US Justice Dept loses initial bid to block votes from alleged noncitizens in California

A US judge rejected a Justice Department request to temporarily block California from counting mail ballots from over 20,000 registered voters the Trump administration alleges are likely noncitizens. The ruling is a setback for President Donald Trump's effort to expand federal election oversight ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.

A US judge rejected on Wednesday a Justice Department request to temporarily block California from counting mail ballots from over 20,000 registered voters the Trump administration alleges are likely noncitizens. The decision is the latest setback for President Donald Trump's effort to expand federal election oversight ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, as his Republican Party faces a tight battle to retain control of Congress. US District Judge David Carter issued the ruling after a hearing on Tuesday in Los Angeles federal court. The Justice Department filed the lawsuit on October 15, a rare federal intervention in the voting process weeks before an election. California argued that its safeguards against noncitizen voting are robust and that the DOJ relied on suspect data, warning that complying would risk disenfranchising eligible voters. The Justice Department did not indicate how many of the flagged individuals had actually submitted a mail ballot. The article also notes similar DOJ actions in Alaska and Washington state, and that voting rights activists have expressed concern that the federal methods risk wrongly flagging naturalized citizens.