Justice Department appeals ruling allowing California to count disputed ballots

The U.S. Justice Department asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to quickly rule on whether California can temporarily be prevented from counting up to 20,000 disputed ballots. The move came hours after a federal judge, David O. Carter, rejected the government’s request to segregate the ballots. The department argued that “irreversible ballot processing” was already occurring, citing ongoing processing as votes are handled during early voting, when millions have already cast ballots. Carter said the demands violate the National Voting Rights Act and warned that separating ballots so close to an election could disenfranchise U.S. citizens and disrupt certification. Court filings said Los Angeles County had processed over 500,000 votes, and once processed, votes can’t be traced to individuals.