Appeals court declines to fast track the Justice Department's bid to set aside 20,000 California ballots

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday declined to rule on whether California officials may count about 20,000 mail ballots the Justice Department says belong to noncitizens, the Associated Press reported. Two of the three judges wrote that the government "failed to allow the district court adequate opportunity to consider" its request to sequester the ballots, according to the AP. The two sides meet again Tuesday before a federal district judge, leaving the government little time before the Nov. 3 election, the AP reported.

At rare weekend arguments on Sunday, Judge Mark Bennett, a Trump appointee, questioned whether the appeals court had jurisdiction before the lower court ruled, Judge Gabriel Sanchez, a Biden appointee, asked whether the government was commandeering the state, and Judge Patrick Bumatay, a Trump appointee, said everyone has an interest in ensuring only eligible citizens vote, the AP reported. Justice Department lawyer Matthew Donnelly argued that California was causing irreparable harm "by allowing noncitizens to vote in violation of their own state laws." Seth Waxman, representing Los Angeles County Clerk Dean Logan, said the federal list is unreliable and that checking the county's expected 2.75 million mail ballots for three minutes each would take about 140,000 hours, and a lawyer for Secretary of State Shirley Weber said the claim "has no basis in law or in fact," according to the AP.

On Monday, President Trump wrote on Truth Social that anyone "reporting Voter Fraud in the past Elections, or the upcoming 2026 Midterm Election, will be paid" $1,000,000 "upon the arrest and conviction of those that created the Fraud," FOX 5 DC reported, adding that he did not say where the money would come from. The Department of Homeland Security also announced that five noncitizens in Florida were charged last week with illegally voting in past elections, and Secretary Markwayne Mullin said noncitizen voting "steals the vote" of citizens, Fox News reported. Election experts from both parties say there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud, FOX 5 DC reported.