DOJ Drops Suit Seeking to Sequester 20,000 California Ballots After Supreme Court Denial and Election

The Department of Justice on Friday filed a notice of voluntary dismissal in its lawsuit against California and Los Angeles County election officials. The suit had sought an order requiring officials to sequester approximately 20,000 mail ballots the department alleged were associated with noncitizens pending citizenship verification.

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter denied the temporary restraining order. A Ninth Circuit panel rejected emergency relief, and the Supreme Court denied the administration’s emergency application with no noted dissents. In the Friday filing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hamill stated that by the scheduled November 13 hearing California would already have commingled the challenged ballots with lawful ones, rendering the requested relief unavailable.

The department reiterated that the original request was modest—segregation, not discard—and that each legal vote offset by an illegal one constitutes irreparable harm. Prosecutors noted they continue evaluating other means to protect against vote dilution by noncitizens. California had processed millions of ballots by Friday.

This dismissal follows earlier RWT coverage of the initial request, the district-court denial, and the appeal. The new fact is the voluntary withdrawal after the election and the Supreme Court’s rejection of emergency relief.