DOJ Presses Judge Carter to Sequester Suspected Noncitizen Ballots as Hearing Concludes

A federal judge in Los Angeles heard arguments Tuesday in the Justice Department’s bid to force California to sequester roughly 20,000 mail ballots linked to suspected noncitizens, one day after the Ninth Circuit dismissed the department’s emergency appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter took the matter under submission after a hearing in which First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli argued that the government seeks only a limited order to set the ballots aside pending citizenship verification—not to void or cancel them.

 “We have not asked to void any ballots,” Essayli told the court. He said the department wants to “work with” state and county officials to “safeguard” the election and that “the case rises and falls on the credibility” of the federal list of flagged names. Testimony, he indicated, would explain how the list was compiled. He added that “it means something to be a United States citizen” and pressed for a ruling by the end of the day. Judge Carter has said he expects to rule promptly.

JUST IN: DOJ attorney Bill Essayli argued in his opening remarks that the government is seeking a narrow preliminary injunction to separate ballots belonging to suspected noncitizens in California, NOT cancel or invalidate them.

Essayli argued the government has credible…

— Hailey Grace Gomez (@haileyggomez) October 27, 2026

The underlying lawsuit, filed October 15 against the state, Secretary of State Shirley Weber, and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan, asks the court to require officials to hold returned vote-by-mail ballots from individuals on the federal list until citizenship can be confirmed. Essayli has previously described the 20,000 figure as a floor, not a ceiling, and said federal investigators determined the individuals are not U.S. citizens and received mail ballots this month.

Shasta County declaration contradicts Los Angeles County claims

Los Angeles County has maintained in filings that sequestering the ballots becomes effectively impossible once they are processed: after signature verification, the ballot is separated from its identifying envelope and commingled, rendering it untraceable. County officials have also said they lack authority and access to federal records for citizenship verification.

That position is contradicted by a declaration filed in support of the DOJ by Shasta County Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis. Curtis stated that “electronic information management systems that are used for voting in California can flag the ballots of likely noncitizens identified by the United States, and the sorting machines can segregate those electronically flagged ballots while determining citizenship under state and federal law.” His testimony challenges the claim that county systems cannot identify and set the ballots aside before irreversible mixing.

Ninth Circuit dissent

The case returned to Judge Carter after the Ninth Circuit, in a 2-1 decision Monday, held that the DOJ had not given the district court adequate opportunity to rule before seeking emergency appellate relief. Judges Mark Bennett and Gabriel Sanchez formed the majority; Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented.

In his dissent, Bumatay wrote: “The question — does the federal government have the power to stop this potential attack on the integrity of our elections? Under both federal law and the Constitution, the answer must be ‘yes.’ Simply, the federal government has a sovereign interest in safeguarding federal elections and ensuring that the votes of noncitizens do not undermine our electoral results.” He further argued that “federal law precludes California from commingling ballots likely cast by aliens with legitimate ballots, because it encourages and induces illegal voting. Stopping that practice for those identified as likely noncitizens is the bare minimum.” 

Bumatay also warned: “Those questionable ballots are now rolling in. Once those ballots are processed, it would be impossible to identify them, and they must be counted in the election.”

More than three million ballots have already been returned statewide as voting continues ahead of Election Day on November 3. Judge Carter’s ruling is expected soon.