California ballots sent out of state to ex-residents (Photo: Screenshot from a testimonial on X)
Ninth Circuit Forces California Response as DOJ Presses to Sequester 20,000 Suspected Noncitizen Ballots
Ninth Circuit steps in after Clinton-appointed judge pushes California ballot case to Oct. 27
By Megan Barth, October 24, 2026 2:11 pm
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ordered California election officials to respond by noon Saturday to the Department of Justice’s emergency request to set aside roughly 20,000 mail-in ballots the federal government says were sent to “likely noncitizens,” according to reporting from Fox News correspondent Matt Finn. California met the deadline, arguing in part that the federal government lacks power to interfere with state elections.
Breaking: California meets 9th Circuit Sat deadline & responds to Trump Admin's emergency filing requesting CA set aside 20k ballots believed to be given to non-citizens. Ca argues in part Feds have no power to interfere with state elections pic.twitter.com/Sx2IhANK8E
— Matt Finn (@MattFinnFNC) October 24, 2026
This is the latest flashpoint in a rapidly escalating fight just days before the November 3 midterms.
The DOJ sued California on October 15 after state officials refused to review a password-protected thumb drive listing more than 20,000 people federal agencies (USCIS and Homeland Security Investigations) identified as likely noncitizens who had been mailed live ballots under the state’s universal vote-by-mail system.
The DOJ complaint, detailed in the official press release, seeks an order to sequester—not cancel—those ballots until citizenship can be verified, citing 18 U.S.C. § 611 and the Supremacy Clause.
California Globe covered the ongoing fight and filing the same day: ‘Time is Up for California’ – DOJ Sues to Block California Ballot-Counting As State Officials Refuse to Sequester Noncitizen Ballots.
Background: From Thumb Drive to Lawsuit
On October 13, Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter sent letters and a thumb drive to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan, giving them 48 hours to confirm citizenship status or segregate ballots.
Officials declined, citing security protocols, lack of evidence, and concerns about the timing so close to the election. Ballots had already begun mailing by early October. DHS had earlier flagged as many as 190,000 potential noncitizens on California rolls; the more targeted list of ~20,000 emerged from multi-agency cross-matching. The state has disputed the reliability of the data.
On Monday, the DOJ charged 28 foreign nationals in California with election-related crimes; officials noted that those individuals appeared on the list provided to the state.
Judge Reassignment and the Path to the Ninth Circuit
The case was initially assigned to Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge John W. Holcomb. It was then transferred to Clinton-appointed Judge David O. Carter—the same judge who in January dismissed a prior DOJ lawsuit seeking unredacted California voter rolls, calling the request “unprecedented and illegal” and accusing the administration of exceeding its authority and chipping away at democracy.
California flagged the new case as related to that earlier one; Carter consented to take it. The reassignment drew criticism from some observers who argued the matters were distinct (the prior case centered on records production under the Civil Rights Act of 1960; the current one is an as-applied Supremacy Clause claim focused on sequestering specific ballots).
Carter then set a hearing on the DOJ’s emergency temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction request for October 27. The department had sought a faster ruling—requesting action by noon on October 22, then Friday—and treated the lack of a decision by its self-imposed deadline as a “constructive denial.”
On Thursday, it filed a notice of appeal to the Ninth Circuit and, on Friday, an emergency motion for an injunction pending appeal, arguing that every minute of processing without segregation risks irreversible dilution of citizen votes. The Ninth Circuit ordered California to respond by noon Saturday. A hearing before Carter remains scheduled for Tuesday.
Public Statements and the “Fraud King” Exchange
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, whose office is leading the litigation, has been blunt. On X, he replied directly to a post by Gov. Gavin Newsom that mocked the DOJ effort as a “clown show” for including people who “NEVER voted” or were from the “WRONG COUNTY.”
Essayli wrote: “Hey Fraud King 👑 We’re not waiting for them to vote. You’re not allowed to have any noncitizens on your voter rolls. ‘Period. Full stop.’ … Stop playing games…If you’re so convinced we’re wrong, prove it. We can clear this up in days… What are you afraid of?”
Hey Fraud King 👑
We’re not waiting for them to vote. You’re not allowed to have any noncitizens on your voter rolls. “Period. Full stop.”
It doesn’t matter if some haven’t voted in a prior election.
Stop playing games. Work with us to quickly verify the names we provided and… https://t.co/vEl54lkVe0
— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) October 24, 2026
Essayli has repeatedly called Newsom the “fraud king,” citing billions in alleged waste and fraud across state programs that have resulted in numerous federal arrests.
Newsom has called the lawsuit a “sad, desperate attempt” by the Trump administration to suppress California voters three weeks before Election Day and asserted that the numbers are unsubstantiated. Secretary of State Weber has described the demands as an “emergency of the DOJ’s creation” and said California will continue to follow state and federal law.
As of Saturday evening, the Ninth Circuit had California’s response in hand, and the district-court hearing remains set for Tuesday. With voting already underway and hundreds of thousands of ballots returned, the outcome will determine whether the flagged ballots are set aside for verification or proceed into the normal count.
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If California’s voter fraud stands, every state in the union may as well register anything that walks by: illegals, children, underaged, borrowed from the state next door, even computer bots. Everyone has a right to vote.
BTW, who swapped the judges to get one on the payroll?
The Gov., SOS Weber, and the entire criminal gang are showing —- with their response —- that they are complicit in the voter cheating that OBVIOUSLY has been going on for years, even decades.
GROW UP
RESTORE VOTING RIGHTS TO CITIZENS
NOW
Yes on Prop 39 and yes on Hilton, Gates (AG), Wagner (SoS), Morgan (Controller), Shaw (Education) and Romero (Lt Gov)
Take out the Democrat trash this November and clean up the voter rolls and election practices!
YES PLEASE!
“It was then transferred to Clinton-appointed Judge David O. Carter—the same judge who in January dismissed a prior DOJ lawsuit seeking unredacted California voter rolls, calling the request “unprecedented and illegal” and accusing the administration of exceeding its authority and chipping away at democracy. ”
Anything to improves the accuracy and integrity of the voting process, improves democracy. I’ll say it again. Anything that improves voting accuracy, improves democracy. The more checking and auditing the better.
What kind of judge is this? This judge is liar. He is not fit to judge anything.
“Fraud King” is almost as good a nickname as “Newscum”
This is a well thought out Federal case as they’ve identified the harm by charging illegals who voted, sent the state specific names to check out, and ballots are ordered sequestered all the time by judges. This is also great publicity for the California voter ID law, as all the responses from officials with all the reasons they “can’t” do it are stupid.
“With voting already underway and hundreds of thousands of ballots returned, the outcome will determine whether the flagged ballots are set aside for verification or proceed into the normal count.”
I sincerely doubt they will be verified!
It’s not at all that the Democrats want illegals to be able to vote and have “voting rights”. They could care less! It’s that they’re eliminating the possibility of ever being caught cheating and throwing elections. There’s no way to trace how many illegals voted or who they even are or if they even exist. Gives them complete control and free reign to continue robbing and looting the state of California.
This may be the fraud fight that finally wakes people up. Hopefully the margins are too great for the to scuttle Voter ID, but I’ll still be in disbelief if it passes. The feds will have two full years to investigate voter fraud without California’s cooperation.
Who is surprised California leadership came out and basically said: “we don’t care how many illegals vote”.