'Go out and indict': US judge questions Trump's bid to set aside 20,000 California ballots from alleged noncitizens

Federal judge David O. Carter spent several hours in a Los Angeles courtroom on Tuesday before reserving his decision until Wednesday, voicing sharp doubts about the Trump Justice Department's bid to have 20,000 mail ballots set aside from voters the administration alleges are likely noncitizens. Carter told DOJ prosecutor Bill Essayli the government already possessed a remedy that stopped short of emergency ballot intervention — signed return envelopes could be used to identify and pursue suspected illegal voters. The judge also challenged how the administration had assembled its list and described the demands as a "monumental change" to California's election procedures.

California counties have until 3 December to certify results, Carter noted, a timeline that weakened the DOJ's argument that action was urgently required before the following Tuesday's midterm vote.

The case comes after Monday's 2-1 loss for the DOJ at the 9th Circuit, where judges — among them a Trump appointee — found that the administration had brought its emergency upon itself by waiting three weeks before the election to file suit.

Legal experts say Trump's wider noncitizen-voting campaign — which encompasses a DHS "surge initiative" and a promised $1m bounty for fraud tips — is motivated more by political messaging than by law enforcement objectives.