A federal appeals court issued a stark order late Friday. It commanded California to respond by noon the next day. The target was a list of roughly 20,000 voters. The Justice Department suspects these individuals are not citizens. This deadline came just before midterm elections began.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit acted fast. They stepped in after a lower judge did not rule in time. District Judge David Carter had missed a previous deadline set by the department. The higher court refused to let the clock run out. They demanded an immediate answer from state officials.
The Justice Department filed an emergency request. Attorney General Todd Blanche and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli submitted the filing together. They called the situation an emergency. They argued that every minute matters. They claimed processing these ballots causes irreversible damage. They said it dilutes the votes of actual citizens.
Essayli told reporters the number is at least 20,000. He said this figure is the floor. Investigators have evidence these people received mail-in ballots. The ballots arrived in October. The federal office sued California last week. They wanted a court order to stop counting these votes. They are not asking for drastic steps. They only want the ballots set aside for review.
California election officials rejected these demands flatly. They argued their county offices lack the authority. They said they do not have access to federal records. They cannot verify citizenship status on their own. Officials also said separating the ballots is impossible now. Many have already been processed.
Once a signature is verified, the ballot is separated. The identifying envelope is removed. The vote is mixed with thousands of others. In Los Angeles County alone, 331,000 ballots were processed. That happened before this latest court order. The damage may already be done.
The clash went beyond the courtroom. Essayli argued with Governor Gavin Newsom online. Essayli accused California of weak verification procedures. He said the state allowed noncitizens onto voter rolls. Newsom defended the integrity of state elections. He maintained that California is following the law.
The initial suit was filed on October 15. This was two weeks after mailing began. The escalation on Friday shows the urgency. A hearing before Judge Carter is still scheduled. It will take place on Tuesday. It is unclear if the appeals court will rule first. The legal battle is far from over. The focus remains on those 20,000 names. The money trail leads to political power. The question is who gets to vote. The court has spoken. California must now explain its delay.