Judge blocks California ballot challenge, questions evidence against 20,000 voters

With the midterms just days away, a federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's effort to set aside thousands of mail-in ballots in California. The Justice Department claims the voters may not be U.S. citizens, but the judge says the government hasn't made a credible case. In a ruling Wednesday, Judge David Carter rejected the administration's request to set aside ballots for more than 20,000 voters while their citizenship is checked. He says that would violate longstanding constitutional principles giving states control over their elections, and Carter didn't mince words. Carter wrote, quote, Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the executive branch. He also warned the move would, quote, wreak havoc on voting that's already underway. And he questioned how the Justice Department put together its list of suspected noncitizens, saying the process wasn't credible. The Justice Department says it plans to appeal.