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9th Circuit Rejects Trump Bid to Toss 20,000 Mail Ballots

By Drooid · Oct 31, 2026 · How we work

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Summary

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Trump administration’s request to discard 20,000 California mail ballots.
Judges Mark Bennett and Gabriel Sanchez authored the majority opinion.
Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented, calling the request reasonable.
The court said the petition would violate the Elections Clause and could disenfranchise voters.
The decision arrived less than four days before the November 3 midterm elections, limiting further challenges.

History

The 2000 presidential race hinged on Florida’s razor-thin margin, prompting the state Supreme Court on Dec 8 to order a statewide manual recount of about 61,000 undervotes. The U.S. Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Rehnquist, halted the effort on Dec 12 by a 5-4 vote, citing the Equal Protection Clause and the Dec 12 “safe-harbor” deadline. The ruling spurred nationwide reforms to ballot-handling statutes.

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The 2000 presidential race hinged on Florida’s razor-thin margin, prompting the state Supreme Court on Dec 8 to order a statewide manual recount of about 61,000 undervotes. The U.S. Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Rehnquist, halted the effort on Dec 12 by a 5-4 vote, citing the Equal Protection Clause and the Dec 12 “safe-harbor” deadline. The ruling spurred nationwide reforms to ballot-handling statutes.

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