Ninth Circuit Forces California Response as DOJ Presses to Sequester 20,000 Suspected Noncitizen Ballots

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.