Judge says Trump bid to set aside California ballots would ‘wreak havoc’ on democracy

A US judge rejected the Trump administration's request to block California from counting mail ballots from over 20,000 registered voters. The decision was made by US District Judge David Carter, who stated that the request would undermine democracy. The judge's ruling marks a setback for President Donald Trump's efforts to increase federal involvement in elections.

The Justice Department had filed a lawsuit on October 15, alleging that the flagged voters were likely noncitizens. However, Judge Carter argued that the federal government's intervention in the voting process was unprecedented and would cause harm to thousands of registered voters. The judge also noted that California has robust safeguards against noncitizen voting.

The Justice Department has appealed the decision to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. California has stated that its safeguards against noncitizen voting are robust and that complying with the Justice Department's demands would risk disenfranchising eligible voters. The state has 52 seats in the House of Representatives and is a Democratic stronghold.