Trump Loses Bid to Sideline 20,000 California Ballots
(MENAFN) A federal judge shut down a last-minute push by the Donald Trump administration to sideline 20,000 California ballots cast by voters whose US citizenship the government has questioned, ruling Wednesday.
In a sweeping rebuke, US District Judge David Carter wrote: “Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch.” He continued: “The federal government seeks to segregate and exclude over 20,000 ballots. This request violates longstanding constitutional principles mandating that states have control over their elections.”
Carter found the administration’s allegations “not credible.” He held that stepping in just days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections would violate federal voting laws and sow chaos.
“If Plaintiff’s last-minute request for relief were granted, either party could create chaos for their own political purposes to disrupt the election process,” Carter said. “Over 20,000 registered Californians would potentially lose the right that generations of Americans have fought to preserve.”
His order was blunt: “The Government’s Application for Temporary Restraining Order is DENIED.”
Carter warned that granting the unprecedented request would likely strip legitimate voters of their rights and invite future political meddling in elections.
“Constitutional rights and our democracy are at stake. The public interest favors their protection,” said Carter. “Individuals who have met the requirements of California’s voter registration laws must not be deprived of a core right merely because of unfounded allegations stemming from a procedure rife with uncertainty and errors.”
The judge noted that federal law already provides for prosecuting illegal voting, and that California had already set up rules “to cancel the voter registrations of any individuals proven ineligible.”
“The Executive Branch cannot replace the remedy Congress carefully enacted with its own unlawful and unconstitutional solution instead,” said Carter. “Eroded trust in our democracy is irreparable. Once a vote is segregated, lasting harm has occurred.”
He closed with a stark warning. “If the Executive can discount votes and threaten an ongoing election due to unproven allegations, then our democracy is in danger,” he concluded. “This Court declines to be a party to such process.”
The decision marks the second defeat this week for the Trump administration in its bid for a temporary restraining order against California and Los Angeles County. On Monday, a three-judge panel of the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the government’s emergency request in a separate order, according to news reports.
In a sweeping rebuke, US District Judge David Carter wrote: “Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch.” He continued: “The federal government seeks to segregate and exclude over 20,000 ballots. This request violates longstanding constitutional principles mandating that states have control over their elections.”
Carter found the administration’s allegations “not credible.” He held that stepping in just days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections would violate federal voting laws and sow chaos.
“If Plaintiff’s last-minute request for relief were granted, either party could create chaos for their own political purposes to disrupt the election process,” Carter said. “Over 20,000 registered Californians would potentially lose the right that generations of Americans have fought to preserve.”
His order was blunt: “The Government’s Application for Temporary Restraining Order is DENIED.”
Carter warned that granting the unprecedented request would likely strip legitimate voters of their rights and invite future political meddling in elections.
“Constitutional rights and our democracy are at stake. The public interest favors their protection,” said Carter. “Individuals who have met the requirements of California’s voter registration laws must not be deprived of a core right merely because of unfounded allegations stemming from a procedure rife with uncertainty and errors.”
The judge noted that federal law already provides for prosecuting illegal voting, and that California had already set up rules “to cancel the voter registrations of any individuals proven ineligible.”
“The Executive Branch cannot replace the remedy Congress carefully enacted with its own unlawful and unconstitutional solution instead,” said Carter. “Eroded trust in our democracy is irreparable. Once a vote is segregated, lasting harm has occurred.”
He closed with a stark warning. “If the Executive can discount votes and threaten an ongoing election due to unproven allegations, then our democracy is in danger,” he concluded. “This Court declines to be a party to such process.”
The decision marks the second defeat this week for the Trump administration in its bid for a temporary restraining order against California and Los Angeles County. On Monday, a three-judge panel of the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the government’s emergency request in a separate order, according to news reports.
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