A US appeals court on Monday ruled against Donald Trump’s justice department in a major voting dispute ahead of the midterm elections, denying a request to block California from counting mail ballots from people on a list of more than 20,000 registered voters the federal government alleges are likely noncitizens.
The decision by the San Francisco-based ninth US circuit court of appeals marked the latest setback in Trump’s efforts to assert a greater federal role in overseeing elections in the run-up to the 3 November midterms in which his fellow Republicans are fighting to retain control of Congress.
On Friday, at least 18 counties across California received letters demanding local election officials set aside and verify ballots that Trump’s administration claims belong to noncitizen voters.
The DoJ’s lawsuit, filed earlier this month, marked the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s battle with California.
