A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the federal appeals court for California and other Western states, held a rare Sunday hearing on Oct. 25. The Trump Justice Department wants the court to block California from counting mail ballots from more than 20,000 people it calls "likely" noncitizens until their citizenship is confirmed 1.
Argument lasted nearly two hours, and the judges did not rule from the bench 12. Reports from the hearing describe a panel that was largely skeptical of the government. Two of the three judges were appointed by President Trump 12.
What the judges said
Judge Mark Bennett, a Trump appointee, questioned whether the appeals court should be involved at all. "I don't see how we have jurisdiction," he said, according to Democracy Docket's account 1. He also asked whether the order the department wants could fit with California election law adopted under the Constitution's Elections Clause, which gives states the main role in running elections 12.
It seems to me that you want us to issue an injunction that is entirely inconsistent with the law.
Bennett asked why the department had not sued sooner, since it seemed to have known about the issue for some time 3. He also said he had "a problem with the relief that's being sought," noting that Congress and the California Legislature both already bar noncitizens from voting 3.
Judge Gabriel Sanchez, a Biden appointee, pressed the government on how the list was put together and who helped build it 13. He also asked why the appeals court should step in when the trial judge, U.S. District Judge David Carter, has not yet ruled 2.
Your claims very much depend on the reliability of that list.
Justice Department attorney Matthew Donnelly had trouble explaining how the department identified the 20,000 people 1. He also said the government had not fully processed the list before it sued 3. Asked about the timing, he replied:
We could have filed a complaint, but we wanted to file the complaint that we filed.
The third judge, Trump appointee Patrick Bumatay, was the most sympathetic to the government 1. He said the government is concerned about "not having the illegal vote count" and questioned how California handles challenges to voters suspected of being ineligible 12.
How the fight started
California mails a ballot to every registered voter and began sending them out on Oct. 5 3. On Oct. 13, the Justice Department sent election officials a list of suspected noncitizens compiled by Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that handles naturalization 3. The department gave officials 48 hours to review the names, which came on a password-protected thumb drive 4.
Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan said the drive was not a secure device and that the password was written on a sticky note 4. He said his office could not withhold ballots solely on the basis of allegations that had not been verified 4. The department sued California, Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Logan on Oct. 15 3.
Weber said the government has offered no evidence for its claim 4. She also pointed out that the federal count has shrunk, from 190,000 names flagged over the summer to 20,000 now 4. Los Angeles County officials said a preliminary review of part of the list found apparent mistakes, including people born in the United States and people not registered to vote 2.
Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, said the state would not carry out the federal demands. He argued they violate a federal law barring changes to voter rolls within 90 days of an election 4.
Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, said the department would not let California dilute the votes of American citizens 4. The department says it has charged about 90 people nationwide with election misconduct this year, 50 of them for allegedly voting as noncitizens 4. Democracy Docket reports 28 people have been charged in California with voting-related crimes 1.
California's answer in court
Deputy Attorney General Samuel Siegel told the judges that California already requires voters to swear under penalty of perjury that they are citizens 13. He said the government had created its own emergency and warned the request would cause confusion and risk keeping eligible voters from having their ballots counted 1. He also said the administration may dislike how California runs its elections 3.
Seth Waxman, a former U.S. solicitor general representing Los Angeles County, argued that the state's process would not stop federal prosecutors from charging anyone who votes illegally 1.
What happens next
Judge Carter has a hearing set for Tuesday, Oct. 27 13. The department went to the appeals court early after Carter did not rule by Oct. 22, the deadline it had asked for 23. Judge Bennett said the panel would try to rule as quickly as possible 12.
That matters because voting is well underway. More than 3 million Californians had already voted, including more than 500,000 in Los Angeles County 2. The state has more than 23 million registered voters and several competitive House races 4.
The pattern is clear. This department has already sued California for its full, unredacted voter roll and lost 1, and it has threatened similar suits in other states 1. Even so, judges named by both parties kept asking the same question on Sunday: where is the proof?
The Record
- California begins mailing ballots to all registered voters 3.
- Justice Department sends a list of about 20,000 suspected noncitizens to California election officials 3.
- Justice Department sues California, Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan 3.
- Ninth Circuit panel hears nearly two hours of argument in a rare Sunday session and does not rule 1.
- U.S. District Judge David Carter's hearing on the case is scheduled 13.
Sources
- Democracy Docket, “Appeals court appears skeptical of DOJ's emergency bid to block 20,000 ballots in California” (2026-10-25). democracydocket.com/news-alerts/appeals-court-appears-skepti
- Fox News, “Ninth Circuit questions Trump DOJ's emergency request to set aside 20,000 California mail ballots” (2026-10-25). foxnews.com/politics/ninth-circuit-questions-trump-doj-emerg
- The Washington Sun, “Appeals Court Questions Trump Administration's Bid to Block 20,000 California Ballots” (2026-10-25). washingtonsun.com/legal/9th-circuit-appeals-trump-doj-califo
- AP via The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Trump administration sues California over alleged noncitizens on the state's voter rolls” (2026-10-15). ajc.com/news/2026/10/trump-administration-sues-california-ov
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