Ninth Circuit twice rejects DOJ bid to set aside 20,000 California ballots
The gist
A federal appeals court rejected the Justice Department's request to set aside about 20,000 California ballots, twice in one week.
The fight over alleged noncitizen voters is heading toward the Supreme Court.
How it unfolded
- Jul 2026The Department of Homeland Security claimed as many as 190,000 noncitizens were included on California's voter rolls.
- Oct 5, 2026Los Angeles County began counting mail-in ballots; 331,000 had been counted as of Oct. 21.
- Oct 15, 2026The federal government sued to prevent California from counting about 20,000 votes before verifying they weren't from noncitizens.