Justice Department Sues California Over 20,000 Ballots

The U.S. Justice Department sued California on October 15, asking a federal court to stop the state from processing certain ballots linked to about 20,000 people federal officials say are likely noncitizens until their citizenship is verified. The complaint seeks an emergency order covering returned ballots associated with the flagged voters. It asks the court to pause signature checks and tabulation while eligibility is determined, rather than remove the people from voter registration rolls. The request also seeks to prevent ballots from being sent to flagged individuals who have not yet received one, according to the complaint. The department says federal agencies matched California voter records with citizenship and immigration records, used additional checks and identified roughly 20,000 people believed likely to be noncitizens. The complaint describes the review as ongoing. Noncitizens are barred from voting in federal elections, but the supplied reporting does not establish how many people on the list are ineligible. California officials dispute the reliability and usefulness of the federal data and objected to a 48-hour deadline to review the names. Secretary of State...