The US Department of Justice has asked a federal court to dismiss its lawsuit seeking to stop California from counting around 20,000 ballots linked to people suspected of being noncitizens. The request came on Friday, just days after Republicans suffered major losses in the midterm elections.
The case had focused on whether the ballots should be kept separate until the immigration status of the voters could be checked. Federal officials claimed the list included people who may not have been eligible to vote. California officials disputed the claims, saying the list was outdated and contained many lawful voters.
The Justice Department filed its request about a week before a planned court hearing. A special master had been appointed to examine the accuracy of the list and review whether state election officials could separate the disputed ballots from other votes.
The department said the requested action was no longer possible because California had continued counting ballots. By the time of the planned hearing, the disputed votes would have been mixed with lawful ballots. The motion argued that the relief sought by the federal government was no longer available, making dismissal necessary.
California election officials said the state had processed about 9 million ballots by early Friday. Nearly 5 million ballots were still waiting to be counted. Once election officials process a ballot, its identifying information is removed to protect voter privacy. This makes it difficult to identify and separate individual ballots later.
Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, had previously acknowledged this problem. Before the election, he argued that the lawsuit could lose its purpose after Election Day because officials would no longer be able to isolate ballots allegedly cast by noncitizens.
The federal government filed the case in mid-October. By then, ballots had already been sent to all 23 million registered voters in California, and hundreds of thousands had been processed. Essayli said the aim was to protect election integrity before the vote took place.
The lawsuit formed part of a wider effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to increase federal oversight of state election systems. Trump has repeatedly claimed that US elections face widespread illegal voting, but he has not provided evidence to support those claims.
The administration continues to face legal challenges over its use of lists containing people suspected of being noncitizens. Immigrant and voting rights groups have filed cases seeking to limit how the government uses the information.
A separate lawsuit in Alaska also faced a setback. The Justice Department had filed the case at Trump’s direction before the election, seeking to block the victory of a Democratic candidate in the state’s Senate race. A federal judge quickly dismissed the case. The administration has appealed the ruling, but it has not yet submitted a full brief to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Meanwhile, California authorities have taken action in separate investigations involving suspected illegal voter registration. State prosecutors have arrested more than 30 noncitizens in recent weeks. They are accused of registering to vote unlawfully, while some also face allegations of voting in past elections.
Election officials in several California counties also received subpoenas before the midterm vote. They were asked to testify before grand juries expected to meet in November. The details of those investigations remain unclear, including which individuals may face criminal charges.
US District Judge David O. Carter appointed the special master in late October. He had earlier allowed California to continue its election process without holding back the disputed ballots.
In his ruling, Carter questioned the federal government’s request to separate the votes at such a late stage. He warned that the move could prevent eligible citizens from having their ballots counted and disrupt the election process. He also said the plan could cause serious problems for the midterm vote.
The special master was expected to examine both the accuracy of the federal list and whether California had a practical way to identify and separate the ballots. The Justice Department’s latest request may now bring that review to an end.
The department’s decision marks a new development in the legal dispute over federal involvement in state elections. It also leaves broader questions about the use of suspected noncitizen voter lists unresolved, as related cases continue in courts across the country.
