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Appeals court rejects Justice Department request for California to set aside disputed ballots

First seen Oct 28, 2026, 8:59 PM ET · Updated Oct 30, 2026, 5:56 PM ET · 6 outlets

Topics: Voting & Election LawCalifornia Politics

6 outlets (PBS NewsHour, Axios, NYT, NBC News, CBS News and ABC News) are covering this story.

How outlets are covering this: 6 outlets ran their own headlines on this story. Words most headlines share: “California”, “Appeals”, “ballots”, “rejects”. Distinct wording: PBS NewsHour uses “request”; Axios uses “last-minute” and “ballot”; NYT uses “Impound” and “Effort”; NBC News uses “noncitizen” and “segregate”. (Computed from the headlines below.)

• PBS NewsHour reports: “The administration has alleged California sent ballots to some 20,000 people who may not be U.S. citizens. It wants the state to set those ballots aside and not count them until citizenship can be …”
• Axios reports: “A federal appeals court rejected the Justice Department's emergency bid to set aside mail ballots tied to more than 20,000 California voters the Trump administration suspects are noncitizens.Why it…”
• NYT reports: “In a 2-to-1 vote, an appeals court panel declined to order the state to set aside more than 20,000 mail-in ballots, calling the notion plainly unconstitutional.”

Read the full coverage

• PBS NewsHour: Appeals court rejects Justice Department request for California to set aside disputed ballots
• Axios: Trump DOJ loses last-minute California ballot bid
• NYT: Appeals Court Again Rejects Trump Effort to Impound California Ballots
• NBC News: Appeals court again rejects DOJ’s bid to segregate alleged noncitizen ballots in California
• CBS News: Appeals court rejects DOJ bid to set aside disputed California ballots
• ABC News: Justice Department appeals ruling allowing California to count disputed ballots

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