Appeals Court TORCHES Trump DOJ's Bid to TOSS BALLOTS

Attorneys Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian cover the Justice Department’s attempt to have California set aside the ballots of more than 20,000 people that DHS investigators label “likely noncitizens.” The DOJ sent Los Angeles County a password-protected thumb drive of names on October 13 with a 48-hour deadline, then sued in federal court in Los Angeles to bar the counting of those ballots until citizenship is verified, even though its own filing says it is not practicable for the federal government to investigate the list before the election. The DOJ later sent letters warning officials they could be aiders and abettors to a federal crime, and it has charged 28 people from the list, all green card holders. Only 7,035 names had Los Angeles County addresses. In a preliminary sample of 200 records, county officials found 112 registrations canceled or inactive, about 71% with no voting history, and nearly 40% of those with birthplace data born in the United States, and they called the list unreliable. The DOJ’s acting deputy attorney general acknowledged there may be citizens on it. The DOJ went to the appeals court before Judge David O. Carter ruled, and at a Sunday hearing a three-judge panel questioned the court’s jurisdiction and the relief sought, with a Trump appointee raising Elections Clause concerns, and no ruling was announced. The hosts argue the executive branch cannot use criminal statutes to dictate how states run elections, that the case is not ripe, and that the aim is to build a narrative to dispute results. Brian stresses that noncitizens should not vote but says the evidence of it happening is slim. Brian’s bottom line: if the government cannot verify its own list, it should not be asking a state to hold back the ballots of its voters.

Kabateck LLP: Call 1-844-74-CIVIL for a free case evaluation or visit us at https://www.kbklawyers.com/

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