Oregon AG co-leads coalition to block DOJ from setting aside California ballots
(KTVZ) -- Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and New York Attorney General Letitia James co-led a 20-jurisdiction coalition filing a brief urging a federal appeals court to reject a Department of Justice attempt to set aside approximately 20,000 mail-in ballots in California.
The legal action seeks to prevent federal intervention in California's election process as voting is already taking place.
The U.S. Department of Justice asked courts to require California to set aside ballots from individuals on a federal list of noncitizens, though federal officials provided no evidence to support the claims. A federal district judge denied the Department of Justice request on Wednesday, leading federal officials to appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Similar federal voter lists provided to other states in the past contained errors.
In their filing, the coalition of attorneys general argued that the U.S. Constitution assigns authority over election administration to states rather than the federal government. The brief notes that federal law explicitly prohibits states from systematically removing voters from voter rolls within 90 days of an election. The filing also states that altering election rules while voting is underway risks removing eligible voters based on unverified records.
Oregon Rayfield defended state election control and criticized the federal government's actions. “States have successfully run elections for 250 years,” Rayfield said. “But now, the Trump administration is trying to insert itself into the process and cast doubt on the integrity of elections—without any proof. Standing with California means standing up for the right of every state, including Oregon, to run elections voters can trust.”
Rayfield addressed concerns from voters regarding whether their ballots would be included in the final tallies. “For eligible voters who are concerned that their votes won't be counted because of the federal government's actions, know that we're fighting in court to make sure every vote is counted,” Rayfield said. “The U.S. Constitution and the law are on our side and the courts have consistently agreed with us.”
The brief was co-led by Rayfield and New York James. They were joined by attorneys general from 18 other jurisdictions, including Arizona, Colo., Conn., Del., the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Ill., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Nev., N.J., N.M., Vt., Va. and Washington. Prior to the district court ruling, Oregon and 21 other states had filed a similar brief supporting California.
The Department of Justice is seeking an emergency ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals while mail-in voting remains underway.
