A federal appeals court panel on Friday turned down the Trump administration's request to force California officials to set aside more than 20,000 mail-in ballots, according to The New York Times. The judges described the government's position as unconstitutional. The ruling lands four days before the midterm elections.
The decision is a setback for a Justice Department push that has unfolded alongside a broader administration campaign questioning the integrity of the vote count. The New York Times reports that the administration may now take the matter to the Supreme Court.
Why it matters
The order sharply narrows the time left for the Justice Department to obtain a court ruling that would change how California handles mail ballots. Courts have generally held that balloting rules should not be altered in the final days before an election, The New York Times notes.
The case is one strand of a wider effort by the administration to argue that elections are tainted by votes cast by noncitizens, who are barred from voting in federal contests. Documented cases of noncitizen voting are extremely rare, and California officials say the list of names the Justice Department supplied is full of mistakes.
Judges say Congress, not courts, should act
The three-judge panel's order was blunt. It said granting the government's requests would override California's control over how it runs its elections, and that doing so would mean "undermining the Constitution's plain text."
The panel added that if federal officials believe mail-in ballots need different procedures, they should bring that proposal to Congress rather than to the courts.
The administration had asked the panel to order state officials to quarantine roughly 20,000 mail-in ballots that it said had gone to possible noncitizens. The appeals court had rejected an earlier version of the request, NBC News reported, before Friday's ruling closed off the current avenue.
Subpoenas widen in California and Alaska
Separately, the Justice Department expanded its California inquiries, issuing federal grand jury subpoenas to local election administrators. The New York Times describes the move as part of an effort to substantiate claims that thousands of noncitizens appear on the state's voter rolls — claims the administration has not established.
The union representing California election workers responded with a lawsuit over the subpoenas. It accused the Justice Department of "unprecedented and unlawful threats" that put the lawful running of the 2026 midterms and the counting of ballots at risk, according to The New York Times.
A judge also ordered the Justice Department to hand over its list of alleged noncitizen voters in California, AP News reported.
In Alaska, the department issued dozens of subpoenas on Thursday tied to a Democratic plan to add candidates to the ballot in a Senate race that could decide which party controls the chamber. Democratic nominee Mary Peltola said late Thursday that she had not known about the effort.
The New York Times reported this week that operatives aligned with Peltola's campaign sought to recruit candidates who would draw votes away from her Republican opponent, Senator Dan S. Sullivan. Speaking at a fundraiser in Juneau on Thursday night, Peltola said she knew of no other candidates on the ballot besides herself and the incumbent, and that she had no interest in deceiving voters.
Her account conflicts with that of her former campaign manager, Elisa Rios, who told The New York Times that Peltola was not directly involved in the ballot maneuver but was "definitely aware" of it.
Final weekend of a tightening campaign
President Trump is set to hold rallies in Kansas and Iowa on Sunday, a White House official said, reversing a cancellation announced a day earlier in the two traditionally Republican states, where polling shows close races. Speaking in the Oval Office before departing for Florida, Trump said he had considered testing telephone rallies in place of live events but changed course after Republicans in both states called to say an in-person visit would be better.
Republican candidates are fighting to hold their advantage across a string of red states ahead of Tuesday's vote. In South Carolina, the contest between Republican Senator Darline Graham and Democratic challenger Dr. Annie Andrews is effectively even, a situation The New York Times reports would have seemed far-fetched just months ago.
Party leaders are fanning out in the closing days. Former President Bill Clinton was scheduled to appear in Tupelo, Mississippi, on Friday on behalf of Senate candidate Scott Colom, and former Vice President Kamala Harris is set to give the keynote address at a Democratic fundraising dinner in Fulton County, Georgia.
In Michigan, Representative Haley Stevens had said she would campaign this weekend with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee and her former primary rival. Less than a day later, she issued a statement saying she expected him to apologize for remarks he made about Israel.
The New York Times reports that control of Congress may ultimately turn on how strongly voters react to the rising cost of living and on Trump's unfulfilled pledges to address it.
What to watch
The administration's next move is whether it petitions the Supreme Court, a step that would put the California ballot dispute before the justices with almost no time left before voting closes.
