Judge Carter considers special master to audit 20,000 names in California voter dispute
The federal judge is weighing an independent review to determine if ballots can be separated before the Dec. 11 certification deadline.
By Ana Castro ·
The Justice Department claims 20,000 noncitizens are registered to vote in California. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter said Tuesday he is considering appointing a special master to verify that list and determine if counties can physically separate those ballots.
The dispute began in mid-October when the Republican administration sued California election officials. The government accused state and county leaders of missing a 48-hour deadline to review the federal list. The lawsuit seeks to prevent the state from counting ballots from the individuals on that roster.
Carter stated that deciding the case without an independent expert would be too rushed. He indicated the review could be finished before California’s Dec. 11 deadline to certify election results. The judge has not yet issued an official order and plans to do so on Wednesday.
The federal government argues it must act now to stop illegal voting. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli told the court, "We want to stop the illegal voting. We don't want to chase it later." He added that the case "rises and falls on the credibility" of the flagged names.
California officials contend the logistics are impossible. They argue that once a mail ballot is returned, it is separated from the envelope containing voter identification. This makes it difficult to identify specific ballots among the more than 3 million already returned. M. Patrick Moore, a lawyer for the Los Angeles County registrar's office, noted that the county would cooperate if the government pursued criminal prosecutions instead.
Carter expressed skepticism about the civil approach. He questioned why the government was suing rather than using the criminal remedy. He pointed to the recent arrest of 28 people in California for illegal registration. "You got a remedy for goodness sakes, go out and indict," Carter said from the bench. He also warned that threats against local election employees should cease immediately.
The hearing focused on the reliability of the federal list. Los Angeles County officials found that a small sample of people on the list were citizens. A federal agent who conducted the investigation, which used roughly 800 employees to check names manually, filed an affidavit calling the county's findings false. The filing conceded that some citizens may have been mistakenly included.
