A U.S. appeals court on Monday, October 26, ruled against President Donald Trump's administration in a major voting dispute ahead of the midterm elections, denying a request to block California from counting mail ballots from people on a list of more than 20,000 registered voters the federal government alleges are likely noncitizens.
The decision by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals marked the latest setback in Donald Trump's efforts to assert a greater federal role in overseeing elections in the run-up to the November 3 midterms, in which his fellow Republicans are fighting to retain control of Congress.
The court's reasoning
"In the midst of an ongoing election, the United States asks the federal court to dictate to a state legislature a matter squarely within the state's traditional domain, upending the state's policies in this regard and inviting disorder and confusion for voters and election officials alike," the majority opinion stated.
The majority opinion was joined by two judges: Circuit Judge Mark Bennett, a Donald Trump appointee, and Circuit Judge Gabriel Sanchez, who was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden. Circuit Judge Patrick Bumatay, a Donald Trump appointee, dissented.
An escalation over voting
The lawsuit was an escalation in the Donald Trump administration's pressure on state election officials over alleged noncitizen voting and a rare intervention by the Justice Department in the voting process weeks before an election.
The California lawsuit was the first time the Donald Trump administration sought to prevent votes from being counted by a state, though it did not indicate how many of the 20,000 people allegedly registered to vote in California had actually submitted a mail ballot.
Justice Department officials said on October 19 that the 20,000 people included 28 who had been criminally charged with illegally voting.
The ruling lands one week before the November 3 midterm elections, in which all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 Senate seats are on the ballot.
Fuentes: Reuters, 26 oct 2026.