Court Lets Contested California Ballots Be Counted as DOJ Targets 400 Washington Voters

By Kacee Allen Network News Desk.

A federal appeals court on Monday declined to order California election officials to set aside thousands of ballots the Justice Department says may have come from noncitizens, The Washington Post reported. The same day, the Trump administration asked Washington state to set aside ballots from more than 400 people it alleges registered without U.S. citizenship, according to The Associated Press.

Editor’s note: This report is based on Oct. 26, 2026, reporting by The Washington Post and The Associated Press. The Network did not review the court order or the DOJ’s Washington request directly and does not repeat figures beyond those reported. Analysis is labeled below.

California

Under the ruling, the disputed California ballots may be tallied for the time being, the Post reported, a blow to the government’s push to influence the count. A day earlier, 9th Circuit judges pressed DOJ lawyers on whether its request to hold back roughly 20,000 California mail ballots was timely or constitutional, the AP reported.

Washington

In Washington, the administration wants ballots from those 400-plus registrants held aside, the AP reported from Seattle. The midterm election is Nov. 3.

The wider fight

The moves come as the DOJ prepares a record 1,000 federal poll monitors nationwide, according to CBS News. Past probes and court reviews have turned up far fewer confirmed noncitizen voters than administration officials have alleged, the AP has noted.

What to watch

Several questions remain open as Election Day approaches. It is not yet clear whether the Justice Department will seek further review of the California ruling, how Washington state officials will answer the request to set ballots aside, or what evidence the government will put forward to back up its claims about specific registrants. Readers should treat the numbers cited by the administration as allegations until they are tested in court or confirmed by state election officials. The Network will update this story as filings and official responses become public.

Network analysis: get it right before Election Day

Network analysis: Only citizens should vote, and every lawful ballot should count. Both statements can be true at once. If the DOJ has evidence that specific registrants are not citizens, the place to settle it is before ballots are cast, with names, documents and due process. Last-minute demands to wall off thousands of ballots invite exactly the doubt that election integrity is supposed to prevent. The courts are now forcing the government to show its work, and that is how this should be decided.