Key facts
- Judge David Carter declined to order California to segregate ballots from suspected non-citizens.
- The justice department had claimed the list contained 20,000 non-citizens on the state's voter rolls.
- The department refused to provide details about its methodology for identifying non-citizens.
- Los Angeles officials found preliminary indicators that the list was inaccurate.
A federal judge has rejected a request from the Trump administration's justice department to order California election officials to segregate ballots from individuals suspected of not being citizens. US district judge David Carter ruled on Wednesday evening that the department's request was legally thin and appeared intended to undermine the integrity of the midterm election results. The justice department had provided lists to officials in Los Angeles and Sacramento, claiming they contained 20,000 non-citizens on the state's voter rolls. However, officials found preliminary indicators that the list was inaccurate, and the department refused to provide details about its methodology. The judge stated that the federal government should not coerce state election procedures.