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Appeals court rejects second DOJ bid to segregate alleged noncitizen ballots in California

A 2-1 Ninth Circuit ruling said no feasible method exists to isolate specific voters' ballots without potentially catastrophic effects.

Updated Oct 30, 2026 · 21:01 UTC4 reports

The short version

  • A 9th Circuit panel ruled 2-1 against the Justice Department's request to segregate ballots from over 20,000 people alleged to be potential noncitizens.[NBC News]
  • The majority judges said no feasible way exists to isolate those ballots without potentially catastrophic effects on the entire system.[NBC News · Al Jazeera · The Washington Sun]
  • Dissenting Judge Patrick Bumatay called the government's requested remedy modest and said the court should have let it try.[NBC News]
  • A federal judge in Washington ordered the disputed list shared with lawyers for two advocacy groups, and three Los Angeles County officials were asked to appear before a grand jury on November 4.[Associated Press]

Key facts

  • A 9th Circuit panel ruled 2-1 that the government had not shown extraordinary relief was clearly required by law during an ongoing election.[NBC News]
  • The appeals court endorsed the district court finding that no feasible way exists to identify and segregate specific individuals' ballots without potentially catastrophic effects on the entire system.[The Washington Sun]
  • Judges Mark Bennett and Gabriel Sanchez, appointed by Trump and Biden respectively, formed the majority, and Trump appointee Patrick Bumatay dissented.[NBC News · Al Jazeera]
  • U.S. District Judge David Carter found in a ruling that the government's segregation request violated constitutional principles giving states control over their elections.[NBC News]
  • The Department of Homeland Security claimed in July that about 200,000 noncitizens were registered to vote in California.[NBC News]
  • The administration's alleged Nevada noncitizen count was reduced from 15,903 to 6,218 and then to 185, and Nevada officials later confirmed all 185 were citizens.[NBC News]
  • A federal judge in Washington ordered the Trump administration to share the disputed list of names with lawyers for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and the UCLA Voting Rights Project.[Associated Press]
  • At least three Los Angeles County election officials were asked to appear before a grand jury on November 4.[Associated Press]

What remains uncertain

  • Whether the government's list of alleged noncitizen voters is accurate is disputed, and the Nevada figures were revised sharply downward.[NBC News]
  • The dissenting judge's view that the requested remedy was modest is disputed by the majority, which found catastrophic system risks.[NBC News]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.