The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday reversed itself and allowed the Department of Justice to resume its efforts to have states set aside ballots cast by suspected non-citizens and reiterate its threats of prosecution for non-compliance.The matter stems from the Trump DOJ’s legal fight with California over 20,000 suspected non-citizens on its voter rolls. The government had asked the state to set those ballots aside for verification before counting them, but the matter went to the Supreme Court without the administration securing a judicial order in its favor.
The Ninth Circuit, in the same case, briefly imposed a ban on the DOJ from continuing with its efforts to secure compliance at the state level, but ruled 6-5 to reinstate an even-earlier decision allowing the agency to continue its operations.
While the ruling is a win for the Trump DOJ, it remains unclear whether it will have any meaningful impact on the Tuesday evening elections.
Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.
