President Trump’s Justice Department filed an emergency request Monday asking a federal court to stop California from counting certain ballots until officials determine whether the people who received them are United States citizens.

The filing puts an immediate question before the court ahead of the November 3 midterm election: Will California be required to separate disputed ballots before tabulation, or will the state be allowed to count them while the underlying citizenship review remains unfinished?

MyNewsLA reports that DOJ filed its request for a temporary restraining order in Los Angeles federal court Monday. A hearing had not immediately been scheduled when the report was published.

Prosecutors want California election officials to stop counting ballots associated with people the federal government identifies as likely noncitizens. The roughly 20,000 names are not a court finding that every person is ineligible or has voted.

California officials dispute the federal claims. Governor Gavin Newsom accused President Trump of trying to interfere with the election, while Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn defended the county’s safeguards and argued that the federal campaign was undermining confidence in voting.

ADVERTISEMENT

The emergency filing is the latest escalation in a dispute that now reaches directly into ballot handling.

The request did not appear from nowhere. Federal officials sued California four days earlier after comparing state registration information with federal immigration data.

Justice Department officials said a preliminary analysis of publicly available California voter-registration records and federal immigration information identified more than 20,000 likely noncitizens registered to vote. Homeland Security Investigations and federal partners used data-enrichment and verification methods, and the review remains ongoing.

Because California mails every registrant a ballot, the federal government asked the state to sequester returned ballots associated with suspected ineligible registrants until citizenship could be determined. DOJ says California refused that opportunity.

California is entitled to challenge the government’s evidence. But refusing to preserve disputed ballots while eligibility is examined is difficult to defend.

DOJ’s argument is that separating the flagged ballots now would prevent unlawful votes, if any are established, from being mixed into the count.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli argues that counting unlawful votes would dilute the votes of eligible American citizens.

The scale of the registration review must still be kept separate from the criminal cases announced Monday. Twenty-eight defendants do not establish 20,000 offenses, and criminal accusations are not convictions.

Justice Department officials announced that 28 people were charged in Operation Protect the Vote, with 11 arrested October 19 across all four California federal districts. Some defendants face felony naturalization-related allegations, while others face charges tied directly to unlawful voting in federal elections.

ADVERTISEMENT

DOJ described all 28 as lawful permanent residents, a status that does not confer citizenship. The complaints allege various false citizenship claims, unlawful registration or voting, and false statements in naturalization matters.

Officials also said all 28 appear on the list federal officials provided to California, but the specific charges differ by defendant.

The arrested defendants were expected to make initial appearances in federal court Monday afternoon, with no pleas scheduled to be taken that day. The charges remain allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter connected Monday’s criminal cases to the government’s push for citizenship checks before ballots are counted.

DOJ is asking for a court order, not announcing a ruling in its favor. The requested relief is specific: require California to set aside the disputed ballots and prevent their tabulation until the associated voters’ citizenship can be determined.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

 

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.