Judge faults DOJ for dropping mail ballot suit weeks before vote
A Clinton appointee criticized the Justice Department for dismissing a case that targeted 20,000 suspected noncitizen votes just days before the midterms.
By Olivia Miller ·
U.S. District Judge David Carter issued a one-paragraph order on Tuesday condemning the Justice Department's decision to withdraw its lawsuit against California election officials. The suit had sought to remove mail ballots from approximately 20,000 individuals suspected of being noncitizens. Carter called the move an attempt to "disrupt an ongoing election and create confusion and uncertainty."
The Justice Department filed the lawsuit in mid-October, shortly after voting began in California. At that time, hundreds of thousands of mail ballots had already been returned to election offices. The agency alleged that more than 20,000 registered voters in the state were not U.S. citizens. It requested a court order to force election workers to separate the ballots from these suspected noncitizens.
Carter, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton, had previously granted interim relief requiring officials to set those ballots aside. The goal was to prevent the votes from being counted until citizenship could be verified. The case had also received similar relief from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
On Saturday, the Justice Department notified Carter that it would voluntarily dismiss the case. This action occurred just weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. The department cited the Supreme Court's denial of further review as a factor in its evaluation of how to protect American votes.
A Justice Department lawyer stated in a filing that the United States is evaluating how to best ensure votes are protected. This includes preventing what the agency described as vote dilution by noncitizens. The dismissal effectively ended the legal effort to segregate the specific group of ballots before the election took place.
The Trump administration argued that voluntary dismissal was necessary because the next hearing was scheduled for Friday. By that time, the administration claimed California would have already mixed the challenged ballots with lawful ones. This would have made it impossible to segregate the votes, rendering the sought relief unavailable.
In his brief order, Carter officially closed the case and canceled Friday's hearing. He emphasized in his writing that the right to vote is sacred and that trust in democracy is equally important.
