A California judge has struck down Donald Trump’s attempt to intervene in the vote-counting process for thousands of registered voters ahead of the midterms.
U.S. District Judge David Carter on Wednesday issued a scathing 26-page rebuke, rejecting the administration’s request to temporarily block the counting of more than 20,000 votes in the blue state that the Department of Justice alleges were cast by noncitizens.
The move is the latest example of the Trump administration attempting to meddle in the crucial Nov. 3 elections, in which Republicans are expected to suffer an electoral wipeout that could see the GOP lose control of both the House and the Senate.
Carter, nominated to the bench by President Bill Clinton, condemned Trump’s attempt to use the federal government to intervene in local and state elections.
“Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch,” Carter wrote.
“In bringing this lawsuit, the Executive would have this Court believe that it reigns as a sole sovereign. But California and its people are sovereign, too.”
Carter added that the administration’s attempts to “segregate and exclude” more than 20,000 ballots would violate longstanding constitutional principles requiring states to control their elections.
The judge warned that, if the plans went ahead, either party could “create chaos for their own political purposes to disrupt the election process” and that around 20,000 registered Californians would “potentially lose the right that generations of Americans have fought to preserve.”
“Eroded trust in our democracy is irreparable. Once a vote is segregated, lasting harm has occurred,” Carter wrote. “If the Executive can discount votes and threaten an ongoing election due to unproven allegations, then our democracy is in danger.”
The Department of Justice intends to appeal the decision. The DOJ’s request was brought by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.
On Tuesday, a judge ruled that Trump loyalist Essayli was unlawfully serving as the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles by remaining in his interim role beyond the 120-day period within which Senate confirmation is required.
The Trump administration tried to avoid Senate approval for Essayli, formerly acting U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, by giving him a new title just before the 120-day period lapsed. The administration argued that the change reset the deadline.
A similar tactic failed in attempts to keep Trump’s former personal attorney, Alina Habba, as New Jersey’s top prosecutor, and to keep Sigal Chattah as U.S. attorney in Nevada.
“Every day, more ballots are processed by election officials,” Essayli said in a statement. “This ongoing emergency disenfranchises American citizens through dilution.”
The Daily Beast has contacted Essayli’s office for further comment.
