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An Appeals Court Said No Again on 20,000 California Ballots. A Trump Pick Joined In

The Ninth Circuit ruled 2 to 1 on Friday against an emergency request to set aside about 20,000 California ballots, this time after weighing the merits, and a Trump appointee was in the majority. Why the list is in doubt, and what the dissent said.

By the Monochrome Chronicles desk, from reports by NBC News, The Hill, Al Jazeera and CNN
Edited by Daniel Varrone · · Watch the Short on YouTube

Primary entrance, James R. Browning U.S. Court of Appeals Building, San Francisco, California LCCN2010719389
Photo: “Primary entrance, James R. Browning U.S. Court of Appeals Building, San Francisco, California LCCN2010719389” by James Knox Taylor, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Transcript of the video edition

Twice in a week, an appeals court refused to set aside about twenty thousand California ballots. One judge saying no was a Trump pick.

Monday’s ruling was about timing. Friday’s, two to one, found no workable way to pull those ballots without possibly catastrophic effects.

The trial judge cited Nevada. Federal officials first claimed up to nearly sixteen thousand noncitizens, then said they confirmed one hundred eighty-five so far. Nevada says they are citizens. The Justice Department disputes that.

The dissenting judge called California’s checks lax, and said Washington shouldn’t have to sit on its hands.

The government could still go to the Supreme Court. For now, the answer is no.

Sources

  1. NBC News, Oct 30, 2026: Appeals court again rejects DOJ’s bid to segregate ballots (2-1, majority Bennett and Sanchez, dissent Bumatay, ‘catastrophic effects’, Carter’s Nevada figures)
  2. The Hill, Oct 30, 2026: Federal appeals court rejects Trump administration’s California ballots argument (2-1, Monday ruling on jurisdiction, Friday on the merits, Bumatay on ‘lax system’ and ‘sit on its hands’, Supreme Court option)
  3. Al Jazeera, Oct 30, 2026: Appeals court again rejects Trump bid to set aside California ballots (second time in under a week, judges and their appointing presidents, Bumatay’s ‘reasonable request’, Nevada says list wrong)
  4. CNN, Oct 28, 2026: Inside the Trump administration’s lists of alleged noncitizen voters (15,903 alleged, 185 ‘confirmed’, Nevada says citizens, Justice Department attorney disputes that)
  5. Pahrump Valley Times, Sept 2026: DHS confirms only 185 of its nearly 16,000 Nevada voter claims (‘as many as’ 15,903, 15,903 called a ceiling, review continuing)

This video edition was scripted with automated tools from the sources listed, narrated by a synthetic voice and published by Daniel Varrone. Corrections: editor@monochromechronicles.com

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