Appeals court allows California to count 20,000 mail ballots before November vote

Roughly 20,000 mail-in ballots in California remain eligible for the November 3 midterm election after a federal appeals court issued a ruling against the Trump administration on Monday. The decision allows state officials to continue tabulating the contested votes rather than setting them aside, a move that impacts how results will be tallied in a state where every vote can shift chamber control in Congress.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the government's request to sequester the ballots in a 2-to-1 decision. The court found that the administration had not provided lower courts with sufficient time to review the legal arguments before the election date. By refusing to pause the count, the federal panel effectively left the authority to tabulate these specific ballots with California, rather than imposing a federal hold.

Judge Gabriel Sanchez, writing for the majority, emphasized that election administration falls within the state's traditional domain under the U.S. Constitution. He argued that the federal government was attempting to dictate a matter squarely within the state legislature's jurisdiction. Sanchez warned that granting the petition would invite disorder and confusion for both voters and election officials who are already managing the pre-election process.

The Trump administration filed its lawsuit on October 15, less than three weeks before the vote. The government asserted that the ballots were sent to individuals who are likely non-citizens. However, the administration has not publicly disclosed how it created the list of voters or determined their eligibility status. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday in a lower court, but the expedited appeals process was driven by the approaching election date.

California officials, led by Secretary of State Shirley Weber, challenged the lawsuit as an effort to interfere with state voting processes. In a court filing dated October 20, Weber's lawyers described the litigation as a reckless political stunt at best and a threat to disenfranchise thousands of Californians at worst. They noted that the administration's claims of widespread non-citizen voting were not supported by the available data.

This case is part of a wider federal push by the Department of Justice, which has sued 30 states and Washington, D.C., to gain access to voter rolls containing sensitive personal data. The department argues that such access is necessary to prevent fraud, but it has lost 26 of those cases so far. Opponents in those cases have successfully argued that the federal maneuvers risk scaring away voters and disrupting state administration.

Experts and voting rights advocates point to data suggesting that non-citizen voting is rare. A July investigation by Reuters found only 129 cases of non-citizens being charged with illegal voting by federal authorities since 1996. Many of those instances involved administrative errors or confusion about rules rather than intentional fraud. In California, immigration agents have recently charged 28 immigrants with illegally voting, though some accused said they were confused by the charges and maintained they had never registered.

The midterm elections will determine which party holds power in Congress. Republicans currently hold slim majorities in both the House and Senate, while projections suggest Democrats may gain seats in one or both chambers. The outcome of this ballot count could influence the final margins in a state that often serves as a bellwether for national voting trends.