Lead report from The New York Times
What happened
A federal appeals court has rejected a request from the Trump administration to force California to set aside over 20,000 ballots from voters alleged to be noncitizens. The 2-to-1 ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld lower court findings. The decision marks another legal setback for the administration's efforts regarding state voter rolls.
Outlets across the political spectrum agree that a federal appeals court voted 2-1 to deny the Justice Department's request to segregate or set aside over 20,000 disputed ballots in California.
Left outlets like The New York Times focused on calling the administration's notion plainly unconstitutional and highlighted additional legal actions, such as a judge barring the department from intimidating election workers. Right-leaning outlets like the Washington Examiner framed the ruling as teeing up a potential Supreme Court gambit just days before the midterm elections. Center outlets provided straightforward reports on the court's decision without emphasizing future legal escalations.
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Center · The Hill
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Appeals court rules against Trump — again — on California ballots
A split federal appeals court panel again rejected the Trump administration’s bid to set aside 20,000 California ballots it says are likely noncitizens until they can be verified. The 2-1 majority on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit didn’t dispute a lower court’s finding that the list isn’t credible and ruled the…
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NBC News ·
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Washington Examiner ·
left: 3 · center: 5 · right: 2. Counts describe displayed outlets, not independent investigations or the accuracy of their reporting.
Source context: In a 2-to-1 vote, an appeals court panel declined to order the state to set aside more than 20,000 mail-in ballots, calling the notion plainly unconstitutional.
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Coverage from 10/29/2026, 6:55:57 PM UTC to 10/31/2026, 2:41:51 AM UTC. A missing source may reflect feed or matching limitations.
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Center · The Hill
Center Right · Washington Examiner
Center Left · The New York Times
3 publishers
A federal appeals court on Friday rejected the Trump administration’s latest bid to force California to set aside ballots from over 20,000 people it alleges might be noncitizens.
In a 2-to-1 vote, an appeals court panel declined to order the state to set aside more than 20,000 mail-in ballots, calling the notion plainly unconstitutional.
Hours later another federal judge barred the department from intimidating election workers involved in processing those ballots.
5 publishers
A split federal appeals court panel again rejected the Trump administration’s bid to set aside 20,000 California ballots it says are likely noncitizens until they can be verified. The 2-1 majority on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit didn’t dispute a lower court’s finding that the list isn’t credible and ruled the…
Grand jury subpoenas sent to election workers in Los Angeles come amid escalating tensions between the Trump administration and California election officials over the state's voter rolls.
The 2-1 ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel is the latest setback for the Trump administration's efforts to assert control over state-run elections.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Justice Department's request for California to set aside disputed ballots received in the midterm election.
The federal government has appealed a court decision allowing California to count ballots allegedly sent to noncitizen voters
2 publishers
A federal appeals court on Friday rejected the Justice Department’s emergency bid to force California to set aside mail-in ballots associated with roughly 20,000 suspected noncitizens, opening a potential path to the Supreme Court days before the midterm elections. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to deny an injunction requiring officials to…
The Trump administration lost a bid to force California to set aside ballots from a list of likely noncitizen voters.The Department of Justice had flagged about 20,000 likely noncitizen voters and asked California to either verify their status as legal voters or segregate any ballots from those on the list.'There is a public interest in maintaining the…
