Federal Judge Rejects Trump Administration's Attempt to Block California 'Noncitizen' Ballots Ahead of Midterms

A U.S. District Judge has rejected a Department of Justice request to temporarily prevent California from counting mail ballots from a list of 20,000 alleged noncitizens, just six days before the midterm elections. Judge David Carter's ruling on Wednesday stated that the federal government's last-minute request would 'wreak havoc' on democracy and ran afoul of constitutional principles mandating state control over elections. The decision marks a setback for the Trump administration's expanded efforts to identify potential noncitizen voters, which has included issuing over 100 subpoenas in at least 13 states. The Justice Department has swiftly appealed the decision to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.