Appeals Court Questions Trump DOJ Bid to Segregate California Ballots

A Ninth Circuit panel voiced jurisdictional and constitutional concerns about the Justice Department’s emergency request to segregate ballots linked to an unverified list of about 20,000 alleged noncitizens; no ruling was issued.

A federal appeals court panel questioned the Trump administration’s attempt to obtain emergency judicial intervention in California’s midterm election during a rare Sunday hearing on October 25, 2026. The Justice Department wants ballots associated with a list of roughly 20,000 people it alleges may be noncitizens segregated while their eligibility is examined.

The three-judge Ninth Circuit panel ended the hearing without a ruling. Judge Mark Bennett said the court would try to decide the matter quickly, according to ABC News. The department asked for action before a district-court hearing scheduled for Tuesday, October 27, one week before Election Day.

Judges question jurisdiction and federal authority

Bennett, an appointee of President Donald Trump, repeatedly questioned whether the appeals court had jurisdiction to intervene before the district judge ruled. He also asked how a federal criminal law prohibiting noncitizen voting could displace state election procedures that the Constitution generally assigns to state legislatures, subject to congressional regulation.

Justice Department attorney Matthew Donnelly argued that California’s administration of the election interfered with federal enforcement of the noncitizen-voting prohibition. The government said urgency increased as California began processing hundreds of thousands of mail ballots. Bennett responded that Congress, rather than a court acting on an emergency request, holds the relevant constitutional power to alter state election rules.

Judge Gabriel Sanchez, appointed by former President Joe Biden, also appeared doubtful that the requested relief was appropriate at this stage. Judge Patrick Bumatay, another Trump appointee, pressed California on whether officials could determine after tabulation whether any disputed ballots had been cast. The questioning did not amount to a decision, and the panel could still grant, narrow or reject the government’s request.

California disputes the government’s list

The Justice Department says California failed to review a federal list of people who may be ineligible and who allegedly received mail ballots. California officials say the list is unverified and includes lawful voters. According to a state filing described by ABC News, Los Angeles County’s preliminary review of 200 names found that nearly 40% indicated they were born in the United States and 71.2% had no voting history.

Federal prosecutors have separately charged about 28 people identified through the broader review with voting or immigration-related offenses, ABC reported. Those individual charges do not establish that all people on the larger list are noncitizens or that they voted. California argues that forcing local officials to isolate the listed voters’ ballots after voting is underway could severely disrupt counting.

A new stage in the California election dispute

The hearing is a material development beyond the Justice Department letters sent to California counties last week. Those letters demanded cooperation within 48 hours to verify people the administration suspected of being noncitizens and to set aside disputed ballots. The appeal now asks a federal court to impose relief before the trial court has resolved the administration’s request.

Reuters and ABC News independently reported that the panel showed substantial skepticism toward the emergency bid. The immediate question is procedural and constitutional, not a final determination of anyone’s citizenship or voting eligibility. Until the court issues an order, California’s existing ballot-processing rules remain in place and the administration has not obtained the segregation order it requested.

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Judges question jurisdiction and federal authority

California disputes the government’s list