On October 30, 2026, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Justice Department's second appeal that sought to prevent California election officials from processing more than 20,000 ballots suspected of being cast by non‑citizens.
The department, part of the Trump administration, argued the ballots might belong to non‑citizens who are registered to vote. This ruling follows a Los Angeles federal judge's earlier denial of a temporary restraining order the department had asked for to halt the ballot processing.