The Justice Department told a federal appeals court on Thursday that it needs to stop California from counting thousands of ballots. Officials say these votes were sent to people who are not U.S. citizens. The group wants the court to order the state to set these ballots aside immediately.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the situation is urgent. “Every minute that goes by, American citizen votes are being diluted in the state of California,” he said at a news conference Thursday. He believes the court must act fast because the problem is happening right now.
Federal investigators have flagged a specific group of voters on the state rolls. Essayli told Fox News that they have evidence these people are not citizens. “We believe it’s at a minimum of 20,000. That’s the floor,” Essayli said. He noted that the actual number could be much higher as they review more records.
The department filed its lawsuit on October 15. Four days later, they asked for an emergency ruling by noon on Thursday. No judge issued a decision by that time. So federal attorneys appealed the lack of a ruling as a denial of their request.
California election officials argue they cannot simply pull these votes from the mix. They say local offices do not have access to the federal records needed to check citizenship. They also claim that once a ballot is processed, it cannot be traced back to a specific person.
Essayli acknowledged this issue but said the solution is to stop the process early. “We’re not asking California to take any drastic steps other than to sequester the ballots from the suspected noncitizens,” he said in an interview on Wednesday. He explained that ballots are already being filled out and returned while the legal fight continues.
He warned that the crime is happening in real time. As we speak, ballots are already mailed, being filled out by people, and returned in process. So, the crime is occurring in real time, Essayli said.
The Justice Department is now asking the 9th Circuit to intervene. They argue that the silence of the district judge effectively blocked their request for help. The Trump administration is racing to stop the counting of these alleged noncitizen votes.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin sent a letter in July that flagged nearly 200,000 voters as possible noncitizens. Federal investigators have been working through those records since then to find the specific names they can verify. Essayli expects thousands more names to be added to the list in the coming days.
The court will now decide if the state must hold these votes until citizenship is proven. If the appeals court sides with the government, California would have to isolate the ballots. If they side with the state, the votes may be counted along with the rest. The answer depends on what the judges decide next.
