By TheWorldNews7 News Desk
A federal appeals court held an emergency Sunday hearing regarding a Department of Justice lawsuit against California, focusing on allegations of approximately 20,000 potential noncitizen voters on the state's voter rolls. The hearing, conducted by a three-judge panel, concluded without a ruling, despite the DOJ's request for a decision before a scheduled district court hearing on Tuesday.
Arguments Over Jurisdiction and Constitutionality
The Trump administration filed a surprise appeal, claiming a district judge failed to act quickly enough to address the presence of potential noncitizens. The Department of Justice is seeking to segregate ballots from these individuals to ensure election integrity. However, the three-judge panel—consisting of two Trump appointees and one Biden appointee—expressed significant skepticism regarding the legal basis for the intervention.
Circuit Judge Mark Bennett questioned whether the appeals court even held jurisdiction to intervene at this stage. He raised constitutional concerns, noting that the Elections Clause grants states authority over the manner in which elections are conducted. Bennett questioned how a criminal statute could preempt the legislative powers granted to California by the Constitution.
Dispute Over Voter List Accuracy
California officials have challenged the DOJ's claims, asserting that the list provided by the federal government is unverified and includes lawful citizens. A preliminary analysis conducted by Los Angeles officials on a sample of 200 names from the 20,000-person list found that nearly 40% of those individuals indicated they were born in the United States, while 71.2% had no prior voting history.
The DOJ has previously sent letters to every county in California, urging local election officials to work with federal agencies to identify noncitizens within 48 hours. The department argued that California's current administration of mail-in ballots infringes on the federal government's ability to enforce laws barring illegal immigrants from voting.
Potential Impact on Election Tabulation
The court also addressed the potential consequences of segregating ballots during an active election. California officials warned that such an order could have a "catastrophic" impact on the tabulation process. While Circuit Judge Patrick Bumatay questioned whether an injunction was necessary to prevent noncitizen votes from being cast, other judges expressed hesitation about granting extraordinary relief so close to the midterm elections.
