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Elections, federal power & voting rights / SOURCED NEWS BRIEF

Judge denies DOJ request to segregate 20,000 California ballots

Temporary restraining order denied; underlying lawsuit and any further proceedings remain pending

Edited by The Inner Circle Ledger · Summary of linked reporting

Donald Trump

Source published: Oct 28, 2026 · 9:00 PM EDT · Event: 2026-10-28

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter denied the Justice Department's request for a temporary restraining order that would have required California to segregate or withhold vote-by-mail ballots tied to more than 20,000 registered voters whom federal officials allege are likely noncitizens. Carter found that the United States had not established a likelihood of success on its standing, cause-of-action or preemption theories, and that changing election procedures after voting began would risk disenfranchising eligible voters and severely disrupt the election. The ruling rejects the requested emergency relief; it does not dismiss the lawsuit or establish that every person on the federal list is a citizen.

Response / context

DOJ's complaint alleges that federal matching identified around 20,000 likely noncitizens and argues that counting their ballots would conflict with federal law. Bill Essayli, arguing for the government at the October 27 hearing, said the list was reliable and that the goal was to safeguard the election rather than prosecute thousands of people. California and Los Angeles County disputed the list's methodology and said federal officials had not supplied evidence sufficient to verify the names on the demanded timetable. Carter found the methodology vague and the allegation unsupported by credible evidence at this preliminary stage. He noted that federal prosecutors can pursue individual cases under 18 U.S.C. § 611 and California can cancel registrations proven ineligible. The order does not bar either remedy, and no post-order DOJ response was identified in the reviewed sources.

Dates and scope

Source publication: Oct 28, 2026 · 9:00 PM EDT

Event or conduct: 2026-10-28. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter filed the 26-page order on October 28, 2026, after hearing argument October 27. The Associated Press and San Francisco Chronicle published reports on October 28; Reuters published its follow-up early October 29 UTC. The Ledger reviewed the order, court case page, DOJ complaint and release, Ninth Circuit opinion and independent reporting at 9:07 p.m. EDT October 28. The lawsuit, emergency application, hearing, district-court order, news-publication dates and source-review time are distinct.

Source review: Oct 28, 2026 · 9:07 PM EDT

Dated report. Publication, event and review times are different; the review time is when the sources were last checked, not a live update.

This brief preserves the available response and disposition. Coverage is non-exhaustive. How we review sources.

Read the original sources

  1. U.S. District Court for the Central District of California: Order Denying Temporary Restraining Order, United States v. California, No. 2:26-cv-12025-DOC-ADS, Dkt. 149 ↗

    Primary 26-page October 28 order denying DOJ's application and explaining the court's preliminary findings on standing, cause of action, preemption, irreparable harm, election disruption and public interest

  2. U.S. District Court for the Central District of California: Cases of Interest — United States v. State of California et al. ↗

    Official court case page listing the October 28 Docket 149 order in Case 2:26-cv-12025-DOC-ADS

  3. U.S. Department of Justice: United States Sues California After Determining More Than 20,000 Likely Noncitizens Are Registered to Vote in the Golden State ↗

    October 15 agency release stating the government's allegations and Bill Essayli's response; it is a party statement, not a judicial finding

  4. U.S. Department of Justice: Complaint, United States v. California ↗

    Primary October 15 complaint setting out DOJ's list-generation allegations, preemption theory and requested relief; the pleading is not evidence accepted as true or a merits ruling

  5. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: Opinion dismissing premature appeal, United States v. California, No. 26-7070 ↗

    Primary October 26 opinion dismissing DOJ's appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction before the district court ruled; it did not decide the TRO merits

  6. Associated Press, Safiyah Riddle: Judge denies federal request to segregate California ballots, says it would 'wreak havoc' on voting ↗

    October 28 report on the written order, more than 3.7 million ballots already cast and the distinction between the emergency request and broader litigation

  7. San Francisco Chronicle, Raheem Hosseini: Federal judge shoots down DOJ attempt to 'upend' California election in scathing ruling ↗

    October 28 report on the order, the parties' hearing arguments, changing federal estimates and Carter's warning against threats to election workers

  8. Reuters, Luc Cohen: US Justice Dept loses initial bid to block votes from alleged noncitizens in California ↗

    October 29 UTC follow-up describing the TRO denial as an initial ruling and preserving California's reliability and disenfranchisement objections

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