Ninth Circuit orders California reply in DOJ ballot dispute
What's next: The state must answer by noon Saturday as the Justice Department seeks to isolate about 20,000 ballots for eligibility review.
A federal appeals court ordered California to respond by noon Saturday to the Justice Department's emergency bid to separate roughly 20,000 mail ballots tied to people federal investigators suspect are noncitizens. The order came late Friday from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after the department sought fast action when U.S. District Judge David Carter had not ruled by its requested deadline. The DOJ wants state election officials to hold those ballots apart from the regular count while voter eligibility is reviewed. A separate hearing before Carter is still scheduled for Tuesday. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has defended the state's election safeguards, while federal officials argue processing the ballots now could affect lawful votes in ways that cannot be undone.