A federal judge has directed the Trump administration to stop pressuring California election officials to separate ballots cast by registered voters flagged as potential noncitizens, ruling that the federal government cannot dictate how the state verifies voter eligibility.
US District Judge James Boasberg issued the order on Monday, just a day before the November 3 midterm elections, as Republicans seek to retain control of both chambers of Congress.
The ruling came after the court found serious flaws in the lists compiled by federal authorities, which allegedly identified noncitizens but also included numerous individuals who were wrongly classified.
Boasberg made it clear that California retains the authority to determine its own procedures for checking the citizenship status of registered voters. The federal government, he said, cannot unilaterally impose its preferred verification methods on the state.
“California may decide for itself what procedures to use for verifying the citizenship of registered voters,” the judge wrote, adding that the executive branch had no authority to enforce its own procedures in this manner.
The legal setback for the Trump administration came on the same day the US Supreme Court rejected its request to temporarily prevent California from counting mail-in ballots submitted by more than 20,000 registered voters whom federal officials suspected of being non-US citizens.
The administration’s efforts to challenge the eligibility of these voters had raised concerns over the handling of ballots ahead of the closely watched midterm elections.
With the latest order, California election authorities can continue following their own voter verification procedures without being compelled to segregate ballots based on the federal government’s disputed lists.
