Clock ticks on thousands of mail ballots as appeals court speeds Trump DOJ bid

A federal appeals court is moving at breakneck speed on the Trump Justice Department's bid to sideline thousands of mail ballots before Election Day.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday gave California and other defendants until noon Pacific time Saturday to respond to the department's emergency motion for an injunction pending appeal, according to a brief order signed by the court's clerk.

The department is asking the court to force California to set aside the mail ballots of more than 20,000 registered voters whom federal agencies flagged as likely noncitizens, keeping them out of the tally until each voter's citizenship is confirmed, as previously reported.

The appeal comes before the trial judge has even ruled. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter scheduled a hearing for Tuesday, and the department argues his decision not to act by its own deadline amounts to a denial it can challenge.

The department told the appeals court that election officials "are presently counting potentially noncitizen ballots" and that its motion could not have been filed sooner.

Carter set his own timeline, giving opponents until 3 p.m. Saturday to file briefs and the department until 3 p.m. Sunday to reply. He wrote that he would rule promptly after the hearing.

California's attorneys told Carter the DOJ had nothing to appeal yet and said he was free to press ahead with the case.

Los Angeles County officials have also challenged the federal list, NPR reported. In a preliminary review of 200 sampled records, the county found nearly 39 percent of those with a usable birthplace pointed to someone born in the United States.

Two immigrant advocacy groups, Mi Familia en Acción and the Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network, are seeking to intervene in the appeal. Voting in the midterm election wraps up Nov. 3.