Judge David Carter of the Central District of California ruled against the Department of Justice's emergency motion to require California and Los Angeles County election officials to sequester ballots returned by those on a list of 20,000 people the federal government had determined to be "likely noncitizens."
In a scathing 26-page order, Carter likened the federal government's effort to prevent illegal aliens from voting to efforts to keep black Americans or women from voting, and to Jim Crow-era laws like "poll taxes, literary tests, and other obstacles to prevent people from casting their vote."
🗳️BREAKING: Judge David Carter denies DOJ's emergency motion in a scathing 26-pg order, likening the federal government's efforts to ensure that illegal aliens don't vote to disenfranchisement suffered by blacks before the Voting Rights Act, and denial of rights to women This will be appealed back to the 9th Circuit
— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) October 29, 2026
In the introduction, he wrote:
Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch. In bringing this lawsuit, the Executive would have this Court believe that it reigns as a sole sovereign. But California and its people are sovereign, too.
Every generation in our history has witnessed repeated clashes between those who seek to limit access to the ballot and those who fight to ensure it. In this case, the federal government seeks to segregate and exclude over 20,000 ballots. This request violates longstanding constitutional principles mandating that states have control over their elections. If Plaintiff’s last-minute request for relief were granted, either party could create chaos for their own political purposes to disrupt the election process. Over 20,000 registered Californians would potentially lose the right that generations of Americans have fought to preserve.
Except that every county in the state already segregates ballots that have been challenged for multiple reasons, including citizenship. It seems that Judge Carter wants folks to challenge each of the people on that list individually.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney issued the following statement:
"The district court denied our emergency request to sequester ballots from 20,000 suspected noncitizens. Every day, more ballots are processed by election officials. This ongoing emergency disenfranchises American citizens through dilution. The Solicitor General authorized an immediate appeal. We filed our Notice of Appeal and will immediately seek an emergency order from the Ninth Circuit.”
The ruling can be read below in its entirety.