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DOJ Asks Ninth Circuit to Block California Mail Ballots

By Drooid · Oct 26, 2026, 2:01 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

DOJ Seeks Ballot Block

U.S. Department of Justice asked the Ninth Circuit to block California from counting 20,000 mail-in ballots.
DOJ alleges the ballots belong to likely noncitizens identified from a purchased list.
California officials say the list is unreliable; a sample showed 40% of names were U.S.-born.
Judges Bennett and Sanchez questioned the court’s jurisdiction and the DOJ’s data reliability.

Summary

Trump Oversteps Guard Authority

The 9th Circuit ruled 2-1 that President Donald Trump’s June 8 2025 deployment of 4,000 Guard troops exceeded authority.
Judge Jennifer Sung said the order violated the Constitution’s separation of powers by usurping Governor Gavin Newsom’s command.
Supreme Court on Dec 23 adopted a Georgetown scholar’s reading limiting authority to federalize the Guard only if rebellion exceeds army.
Federalized troops left Los Angeles in December 2025 after courts found the rebellion claim unfounded.

History

Historical Context

The Militia Act of 1903, signed by President Theodore Roosevelt, restructured state militias into the National Guard and clarified federal activation authority. Congress allocated $8 million and authorized up to 8,000 Guard members for federal service, establishing a funding formula that still guides deployments. Today's Ninth Circuit disputes over California’s mail-in ballots and the 2025 Guard federalization echo the Act’s tension between state election officials and federal authority. The precedent shows that ambiguous activation rules can trigger judicial intervention, prompting future legislation to tighten Guard deployment criteria and safeguard state sovereignty.

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DOJ Seeks Ballot Block

U.S. Department of Justice asked the Ninth Circuit to block California from counting 20,000 mail-in ballots.
DOJ alleges the ballots belong to likely noncitizens identified from a purchased list.
California officials say the list is unreliable; a sample showed 40% of names were U.S.-born.
Judges Bennett and Sanchez questioned the court’s jurisdiction and the DOJ’s data reliability.

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