11NOV

Judge Carter closes DOJ's ballot suit

2 min read

18:10UTC

The Justice Department withdrew its suit over about 20,000 California mail ballots, and Judge David O. Carter closed it with a rebuke: "The right to vote is sacred."

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Key takeaway

The Justice Department dropped its California ballot case without a single ballot set aside.

Judge David O. Carter closed the Justice Department's suit over about 20,000 California mail ballots on Tuesday 10 November once the department had withdrawn it, the Sacramento Bee reported⁠¹. "This lawsuit attempted to disrupt an ongoing election and create confusion and uncertainty for voters and election workers alike," Carter wrote, adding: "The right to vote is sacred."

Carter and a 9th Circuit panel had refused the department's demand to set those ballots aside before polling day, after it renewed the bid on 21 October. The withdrawal ends that effort without a ruling against any ballot, and leaves the department with no court order touching a 2026 ballot in California.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

The US Justice Department sued California, asking it to hold back about 20,000 postal votes from people the department said might not be citizens. Two courts refused in October. On 10 November the department dropped the case, and Judge David O. Carter closed it with a sharp written warning about interfering in an election. Those ballots are being counted like any others.

Deep Analysis

Root Causes

The Constitution's Elections Clause leaves the running of elections to states, so the Justice Department can act only through federal statutes such as the National Voter Registration Act. That limits it to suing a state, as it did here, rather than directing county officials.

California counts mail ballots that arrive up to seven days after polling day. Any order to set ballots aside had to come before counties finished processing them, which put the department against the calendar from the start.

What could happen next?

Precedent
Carter's written finding gives other states a ready citation if the department brings similar ballot-segregation suits in 2028.
Meaning
The withdrawal removes the last federal court action touching California's 2026 count.

Source Landscape

This story draws on neutral-leaning sources

Primary parallel: In Purcell v. Gonzalez in 2006, the Supreme Court warned federal courts against changing election rules close to an election, because late orders confuse voters and officials. Carter's finding that the suit tried to disrupt an ongoing election applies the same principle to a federal plaintiff.

Counter-parallel: In Bush v. Gore on 12 December 2000, the Supreme Court did stop a state's count in progress, halting Florida's recount and settling the presidency. That ruling rested on an equal protection claim brought by a candidate, not on a federal agency's challenge to individual voters' eligibility.

Consensus view: The Campaign Legal Center, founded by former Federal Election Commission chair Trevor Potter, argues that voter lists built from federal immigration records flag naturalised citizens whose files were never updated. On that reading the 20,000 names the department wanted set aside were never a reliable list of non-citizens, which is why Carter and the 9th Circuit refused it twice.

Counter-view: America First Legal, the conservative litigation group founded by Stephen Miller, argues that states rarely check registrations against those same federal records. On that view a federal suit was the only check available, and withdrawing it leaves the underlying question untested.

Key tension: Whether the department withdrew because its list could not survive scrutiny in court, or because the count had moved past the point where any order could matter.

Sources:Sacramento Bee

Mentions:David O. Carter →Department of Justice →California →9th Circuit →Purcell v. Gonzalez →Campaign Legal Center →Florida →Elections Clause →National Voter Registration Act →Supreme Court of the United States →Purcell principle →Trevor Potter →America First Legal →

First Reported In

Update #24 · Late ballots flip North Carolina's 3rd

Sacramento Bee· 11 Nov 2026

Read original →

Causes and effects

Caused by

Judge Carter refuses DOJ's ballot demand

After Carter and the 9th Circuit refused its demand, DOJ withdrew the suit and Carter closed the case.

Occurred 30 Oct 2026

Read story →

DOJ seeks to freeze 20,000 mail ballots

The suit DOJ renewed on 21 October was the one Carter closed on 10 November.

Occurred 21 Oct 2026

Read story →

This Event

Judge Carter closes DOJ's ballot suit

The department's bid to set aside California ballots ends with no court order touching any 2026 ballot in the state.

Different Perspectives

University of Florida Election Lab

The lab, run by Michael McDonald, estimates about 124.3 million ballots, a raw midterm record, and turnout of about 49.4% of eligible voters, second to 2018's 50.05%. The raw record reflects population growth more than a record rate, so the late count is working through a near-2018 electorate.

Thune's critics on the right, including Senator Ron Johnson

Ron Johnson backed the failed 31-15 motion to delay Thune's re-election, after activists such as Mike Cernovich blamed the leader for the defeat. Their complaint is that Republicans could have passed the SAVE Act; in January it meets a Democratic Senate instead.

Senator John Thune

Thune was re-elected Senate Republican leader by acclamation on 10 November after a motion to delay failed 31-15. He kept the filibuster that stopped the SAVE Act, the choice his critics on the right blame for the defeat.

House Republicans under Jim Jordan

House Republicans elected Jordan minority leader by 106 votes to 73 over Steve Scalise on 10 November, after Speaker Mike Johnson declined to run. They replaced the leadership that lost the majority, while Senate Republicans kept theirs.

Donald Trump

Trump asked on Truth Social on 9 November whether anybody believed the election "was honest" and blamed the machines, having told The New York Times on polling night he would accept the results. No Republican campaign had sued over a 2026 result by 10 November, so the claim has no case behind it.

Judge David O. Carter

Carter closed the Justice Department's suit over about 20,000 California mail ballots on 10 November after the department withdrew it, writing that the suit "attempted to disrupt an ongoing election". The closure leaves the department with no court order touching a 2026 California ballot.

Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Editorial standards.