Justice Department election lawsuits head to court days before midterms

Federal courts are weighing a set of Justice Department lawsuits and demands aimed at how several states handle ballots in next week's midterm elections, according to identical reports published by the Tennessee Lookout and the Alabama Reflector.

The outlets reported that the department has sued California and Alaska within the past two weeks. On Monday, it asked election officials in Washington state to set aside the ballots of 400 people it alleges are noncitizens, after making a similar request covering 20,000 people in California before filing suit there. Trump has said the department acted at his direction, the outlets reported.

The department argues that a federal criminal law barring noncitizen voting allows it to demand that California and Washington officials not count those ballots. In Alaska, it filed suit seeking to block certification of the U.S. Senate result if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses to Democrat Mary Peltola by fewer votes than were cast for a separate candidate also named Dan J. Sullivan, whom the department describes as a spoiler.

The California effort lost its first round Monday, the outlets reported. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 ruling, dismissed the department's emergency request on procedural grounds, finding the lower court had not been given enough time to rule. Judge Mark Bennett, a Trump appointee, wrote separately that he would also have denied the request on its merits. U.S. District Judge David Carter held a hearing Tuesday and said he would rule Wednesday, and an appeal is expected either way.

In Alaska, Peltola's campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have asked for a quick dismissal, and state election lawyers want a ruling by Monday, the day before the election.

Administration officials say removing noncitizen voters is a priority. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said enforcing federal law increases confidence in elections, the outlets reported. The department has also increased arrests of alleged noncitizen voters under a program it calls "Operation Protect the Vote." The outlets noted that studies have found noncitizen voting to be rare.

Democrats and several legal experts criticized the lawsuits. California Sen. Alex Padilla said in a statement, "Their attempts to take over our elections will fail."

Asked Tuesday whether he would accept the midterm results, Trump told reporters, "I will if they're honest," according to the reports.

Trump has continued campaigning in the final days. WLWT reported he rallied Wednesday in Chillicothe, Ohio, for Senate and governor candidates, and WDSU reported he plans a virtual rally the night before Election Day for Louisiana Senate candidate Rep. Julia Letlow.

Compiled by True News from reporting by WDSU, WLWT 5, Tennessee Lookout and Alabama Reflector. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/564