9th Circuit denies Trump administration's bid to remove 20,000 California voters

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied the Justice Department’s request to remove roughly 20,000 Californians from the state’s voter rolls, marking the second appellate defeat for the Trump administration in as many weeks. The court’s order blocks a federal effort to purge names that the department says belong to non‑citizens, keeping those voters eligible for the upcoming 2026 elections.

The dispute stems from a 2020 law that requires states to send “non‑citizen” notices to voters whose citizenship status is in doubt. The Justice Department argued that California had failed to act on those notices and that the listed individuals should be struck from the rolls. California officials say the state already follows a rigorous verification process and that the federal request ignores state law and the protections of the National Voter Registration Act. The case is part of a broader national push by the Trump administration to tighten voter rolls after the 2020 election, a move critics say is aimed at suppressing votes in states that lean Democratic.

In its opinion, the 9th Circuit said the Justice Department had not provided sufficient evidence that the targeted voters are non‑citizens. The court also noted that the department’s approach would conflict with California’s own procedures and could disenfranchise eligible voters. California Attorney General Rob Bonta praised the ruling as a defense of voting rights, while Republican election‑integrity groups warned that the decision leaves the door open for future challenges.

The Justice Department has said it will consider an appeal to the Supreme Court, though no timetable has been set. In the meantime, California will continue to maintain the contested names on its rolls, and other states are watching the case closely as they face similar federal pressure. The ruling underscores the legal limits on federal attempts to purge voter lists and could shape how voter‑registration disputes are handled ahead of the next midterm cycle.