Key facts
- The Justice Department is seeking to block California from counting over 20,000 mail-in ballots.
- The ballots are from voters alleged by the Trump administration to be likely non-citizens.
- California officials have stated the list of alleged non-citizens lacks detail and function for investigative use.
- The lawsuit aims to prevent the unlawful dilution of American citizens' votes and protect election integrity.
The U.S. Justice Department has requested an appeals court to intervene in its ongoing lawsuit against California. The department is seeking to prevent the state from counting more than 20,000 mail-in ballots from voters it alleges are likely not U.S. citizens. This action follows a demand from the Justice Department to California officials, giving them 48 hours to take steps to prevent alleged non-citizens in Los Angeles County from voting, or face legal action. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, with a Justice Department lawyer asking the court to stop the tabulation of these ballots until citizenship status can be determined. California officials have criticized the Justice Department's demands, calling them unprecedented and based on unverifiable information.