Judge to rule on request to set aside California ballots

A federal judge in Los Angeles said he would rule by Wednesday on the Justice Department’s request to set aside ballots linked to roughly 20,000 people the Trump administration suspects may be noncitizens, after questioning the list’s reliability and warning against disenfranchising eligible voters. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter took the request under consideration after a hearing on Tuesday. The department is seeking an order requiring California and Los Angeles County to separate ballots associated with people on its list while their citizenship is verified. The roughly 20,000 figure refers to people flagged by the administration, not a confirmed number of ballots cast; the department has not said how many submitted ballots. Carter told the courtroom that threats to state and county election employees should cease immediately. The Justice Department had sent election officials letters warning of possible criminal penalties if they processed ballots associated with the flagged voters. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli denied threatening officials, while maintaining that knowingly processing ballots cast by noncitizens could violate federal law. The...