Judge blocks exclusion of 20,000 California votes
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Expresso das Ilhas
Federal judge David O. Carter rejected the Trump administration’s request to exclude more than 20,000 postal ballots in California. He said the measure risked depriving voters of their right to vote and disrupting elections under way, according to Expresso das Ilhas.
A US federal judge rejected the Donald Trump administration’s request on Wednesday 28 October to exclude more than 20,000 postal ballots from the count in California. Judge David O. Carter, of the US District Court for the Central District of California, said the measure risked undermining the right to vote and causing disruption in elections already under way, reports Expresso das Ilhas.
The US Department of Justice, together with the Department of Homeland Security, had identified more than 20,000 people considered possible non-citizen voters. It asked California authorities to separate their ballots and verify their citizenship before counting them, but the state challenged the reliability of the list, according to Expresso das Ilhas.
Judge Carter also said the procedure could deprive thousands of voters of their right to vote on the basis of uncertain allegations and data that could contain errors. California warned that separating the ballots would be difficult, as ballots are separated from the envelopes containing voter data during processing, which could delay the count.
