Appeals Court Rejects California Ballot Bid

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Trump administration’s emergency request to require California to set aside roughly 20,000 mail ballots tied to voters federal officials suspect may be noncitizens. In a 2-1 decision, the majority said it lacked jurisdiction because the Justice Department had not given the district court enough time to consider the request. The ruling did not decide whether the ballots should ultimately be counted, and a district court hearing was scheduled to consider the dispute. The dissent said ballots could become difficult to identify once processed and urged the court to intervene. California officials dispute the federal government’s list and its authority to require the proposed review.