DOJ asks appeals court to intervene for California mail-in ballot lawsuit
The DOJ asking the Ninth Circuit to jump in before a lower court has even ruled tells me how urgent the administration considers this. Twenty thousand ballots is a small slice of California's electorate, but it is enough to matter in tight races, and the timing stands out to me. Going to an appeals court mid-case is unusual and suggests every day of counting is seen as consequential.
The core claim is that these ballots came from non-citizens, and that carries real weight if true. But California officials have pushed back on similar assertions before, and the Ninth Circuit has been a frequent referee in election fights. I'd want to know what evidence the DOJ actually presented, and how the state responds to any records request that could settle who those voters are. Without that, the whole thing risks being more about process than proof.
Where I land is that courts should hear the facts, not the politics. If non-citizens voted, that is a genuine problem worth fixing. If the claim rests on thin data, blocking a state's count is a heavy step. Either way, a ruling here will shape how election disputes get litigated in the final stretch, not just in California.