Ninth Circuit questions Trump DOJ's emergency request to set aside 20,000 California mail ballots

By Fox News · Fox News

A federal appeals court on Sunday scrutinized the Trump administration's emergency effort to force California to set aside thousands of mail-in ballots tied to people the Justice Department suspects are noncitizens ahead of the midterm elections. The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit raised questions about both the government's legal arguments and whether the court has jurisdiction to intervene during a hearing in which attorneys representing the Trump administration and California argued for nearly two hours, Fox News' Matt Finn reported. The federal government asked the panel to rule immediately, arguing that hundreds of thousands of California ballots could be tabulated each day while the dispute remains unresolved. The hearing comes after the Trump administration filed an emergency request involving roughly 20,000 mail-in ballots sent to people it suspects are noncitizens. CALIFORNIA MUST RESPOND TO DOJ'S EMERGENCY REQUEST OVER BALLOTS MAILED TO ALLEGED NONCITIZENS, COURT RULES The DOJ wants California election officials to set aside ballots associated with individuals on its list while their eligibility is reviewed, rather than allowing the ballots to be processed alongside other votes. Circuit Judge Mark Bennett, a Trump appointee, questioned whether the administration's requested injunction could be reconciled with the Constitution's Elections Clause , which gives state legislatures authority over the times, places and manner of congressional elections, subject to congressional regulation. "It seems to me that you want us to issue an injunction that is entirely inconsistent with the law that the California legislature has adopted pursuant to the Elections Clause," he told Justice Department attorney Matthew Donnelly. BLANCHE WON'T RULE OUT DOJ BLOCKING ELECTION CERTIFICATION IN 'DOOMSDAY' SCENARIO "How can we do that?" The panel also questioned whether the Ninth Circuit has jurisdiction to intervene at this stage. Judge Gab…