9th Circuit
Largest US appeals court; its own DOJ voter-data ruling remains pending seven weeks after argument.
The largest US appeals court had sat on its own ruling in the DOJ's Oregon voter-data appeal for more than seven weeks past the usual window, as of 9 July 2026, while the Sixth Circuit beat it to the first circuit-level ruling.
Last refreshed: 26 July 2026 · Appears in 3 active topics
Does the still-pending 9th Circuit ruling create a split with the Sixth Circuit?
Timeline for 9th Circuit
Mentioned in: DOJ loses again on state voter files
US Midterms 2026Received DOJ's petition for rehearing en banc on the Michigan voter file
US Midterms 2026: DOJ appeals its Michigan voter-file lossMentioned in: Judge blocks DOJ 2020 poll-worker demand
US Midterms 2026Mentioned in: Trump's voting order blocked for good
US Midterms 2026Affirmed dismissal of the DOJ's demand for Michigan's unredacted voter rolls, 2-1
US Midterms 2026: Sixth Circuit rejects DOJ roll demandBackground
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is the largest of the United States' thirteen federal appellate courts, covering nine western states (California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Alaska and Hawaii) with 29 active judgeships. Its jurisdiction spans states holding 67 of the House's 435 seats and two competitive Senate races, giving any circuit-wide ruling unusually broad electoral reach.
Appointed predominantly by Democratic presidents, it is regarded as the most liberal-leaning of the federal circuits, a composition that shapes how litigants read any ruling it issues on politically salient questions such as voter-data access.
Its rulings bind six western states already among those that dismissed DOJ voter-data suits at district level, meaning its Oregon decision carries consequences well beyond the single case before it.
Its Oregon ruling remains overdue
The 9th Circuit heard oral argument in United States v. Oregon on 19 May 2026, the first appellate test of whether DOJ's voter-data demands survive the reasoning district courts across California, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island and Massachusetts used to dismiss the suits, and a three-judge panel of Clinton and Obama appointees showed scepticism toward DOJ's standing argument.
As of 9 July, more than seven weeks past the typical 60-90 day window, no ruling had appeared, and the Sixth Circuit overtook it as the first circuit anywhere to rule, affirming a Michigan dismissal 2-1 on 24 June under a different legal theory. Whichever circuit rules next will be read as reinforcing or splitting from the other, a split that would put DOJ's voter-data campaign on a faster track to the Supreme Court.