California rejects federal demand to audit 20,000 ballots

California rejected a federal mandate on Saturday to verify approximately 20,000 ballots within 48 hours. The state argues the timeline is too short for election officials to confirm citizenship statuses without potentially invalidating votes cast by eligible citizens.

The dispute centers on a list provided by the Department of Justice to county election officials. Federal prosecutors requested that counties work with the Department of Homeland Security to quickly verify the citizenship of individuals on the list. The demand was issued less than two weeks before the midterm elections.

State officials contend that the list contains data errors. Los Angeles county officials stated that a high percentage of the named individuals were born in the United States. Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the process on social media, noting that the department included people who never voted and voters from the wrong county.

Attorney General Rob Bonta accused the justice department of acting at the direction of President Donald Trump. He described the move as an effort to politicize and weaponize the law. Bonta stated that officials received only names on the list with no explanation of why those people were allegedly ineligible to vote.

The federal government framed the request as a measure to secure the election. Bill Essayli, first assistant US attorney, said the department had recently charged 28 foreign nationals with fraudulently registering to vote. He noted that the defendants are lawful permanent residents who hold legal status but are not citizens.

Some state officials took no immediate action on the letters sent Friday. They cited the rapidly approaching election date as the reason for the delay. This inaction triggered a legal fight with the justice department.

An appeals court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case on Tuesday. The ruling will determine whether counties must proceed with the rapid verification or can await a court decision before processing the ballots.