Federal judge rejects Trump administration bid to block California ballots

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter denied the Trump administration’s request to immediately block California officials from counting the ballots of 20,000 voters whose citizenship the federal government questions. In a ruling issued Wednesday, Carter described the administration’s allegations as “not credible” and warned that granting the emergency relief would violate federal laws and sow chaos in the ongoing midterm election.

The judge, a Clinton appointee, wrote that the administration’s last-minute intervention violated longstanding constitutional principles mandating state control over elections. Carter noted that the federal government had never previously sought to coerce a state to abandon its constitutional election procedures on the eve of an election, adding that California and its people are sovereign as well.

The ruling marks the second time this week a court has denied the administration a temporary restraining order against the state and Los Angeles County, following a similar decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday. The administration has already filed a notice of appeal and plans to seek an emergency order to reverse Carter’s decision.

Read the full story at latimes.com.