Ninth Circuit Dismisses Appeal Over California Ballots

The Ninth Circuit on Oct. 26 dismissed the Justice Department’s emergency appeal seeking to stop California from counting ballots linked to about 20,000 people on a federal list of suspected noncitizens, leaving the dispute for a district court hearing scheduled for Oct. 27. The three-judge panel said it lacked jurisdiction to intervene before U.S. District Judge David Carter had adequate time to consider the government’s request for a temporary restraining order. The ruling did not decide whether any people on the list were noncitizens or whether ballots associated with them were ineligible. The Justice Department sued California and Los Angeles County on Oct. 15, asking that ballots tied to people on the list be set aside until their citizenship could be checked. The government initially sought a district court decision by Nov. 3, then requested a ruling by noon the day after Carter set an Oct. 27 hearing. The panel said the government gave the lower court roughly 15 hours before appealing and described at least part of the claimed emergency as self-created. The lawsuit remains pending before Carter, whose hearing on the temporary restraining order was scheduled for Oct. 27....