A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday declined to force California to set aside about 20,000 mail ballots that the Justice Department says may belong to noncitizens, sending the dispute back to a Los Angeles district judge days before the Nov. 3 election^1,2.

Judges Mark Bennett and Gabriel Sanchez said the appeals court lacked jurisdiction because the department did not give the district court an adequate chance to consider temporary relief, CBS News reported¹. Colorado Newsline said the majority reached that conclusion after rare Sunday oral argument². Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented, saying the federal government has a sovereign interest in federal elections¹.

The unsigned majority opinion, as quoted by CBS News, said the claimed emergency was in part self-constructed because of the government's delay in filing suit and in specifying relief¹. Bennett, a Trump appointee, said during argument that he did not see how the court had jurisdiction, Colorado Newsline reported². Justice Department lawyer Matthew Donnelly told the panel the department sought an emergency order after learning how many mail ballots were already being processed².

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter heard arguments Tuesday and said he would rule Wednesday, ABC10 and ABC7 Los Angeles reported^3,4. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli asked that counties separate the listed ballots rather than cancel them, describing a matching process that used a purchased California voter roll, a LexisNexis product called Accurint, federal immigration records and human review³. California lawyers told ABC10 the government had not shown the matching was reliable and that counties mailed ballots in early October³. State attorney Michael Cohen told Carter the methods were known to be unreliable, ABC7 reported⁴.

Carter said he was concerned about last-minute changes to election administration and noted that results need not be certified until Dec. 3^3,4. ABC7 reported he told federal officials they had a charging remedy and said threats to state and county election employees should stop⁴. Gov. Gavin Newsom called the appeals ruling a positive development, CBS News reported¹. How the list was assembled remains contested, and Carter's Wednesday order had not issued in these accounts^3,4.