The Justice Department voluntarily dismissed its challenge after acknowledging that processed, anonymized ballots can no longer be separated from lawful votes as counting continues across the state. District Judge David O. Carter had previously turned down an initial request to intervene, citing concerns that the federal data improperly swept up legitimate participants. By Friday, election workers had processed about 9 million ballots, while approximately 5 million votes remained to be tallied. Meanwhile, federal attorneys are continuing separate legal fights elsewhere, including pursuing an appeal over an election lawsuit in Alaska.
Key points
The federal government conceded that anonymized election processing leaves no legal mecha…: The federal government conceded that anonymized election processing leaves no legal mechanism to sequester disputed ballots after election day.
A scheduled review by an independent special master into the federal government's voter d…: A scheduled review by an independent special master into the federal government's voter data was avoided due to the case's dismissal.
The Justice Department is still actively pursuing election-related legal disputes, includ…: The Justice Department is still actively pursuing election-related legal disputes, including an appeal in Alaska and fights over noncitizen voter lists.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
Los Angeles: The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday moved to dismiss its own lawsuit that sought to stop California from counting roughly 20,000 ballots it alleged went to noncitizens until their immigration status could be verified.
The request to dismiss the case comes days after Republicans' significant losses in the midterm elections and about a week before a scheduled hearing where a special master was slated to evaluate the accuracy of the list. California officials have previously said the list is out of date and includes legitimate voters - a sentiment that the federal judge presiding over the case echoed in his blistering order denying the federal government's request.
The case was at the forefront of President Donald Trump's administration's effort to assert control over state-run elections across the country, which Trump has said are rife with illegal voting without providing evidence.
The Department of Justice remains enmeshed in litigation with immigrant and voting rights groups seeking to limit its use of the list of what is says are suspected noncitizens. Another controversial suit it filed in Alaska at…
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