US appeals court sceptical of Trump's lawsuit over California voter rolls

A United States appeals court has expressed doubt over the Department of Justice's lawsuit against California, which seeks to force the state to throw out mail-in ballots it has deemed likely to go to non-citizens.

Circuit Judge Mark Bennett said on Sunday that the three-judge panel would issue a decision as soon as possible, following a rare weekend oral argument.

But Bennett, an appointee of Republican President Donald Trump, voiced concern that the lawsuit would not hold up to scrutiny.

He pointed to the Elections Clause in the US Constitution, which allows states, not the federal government, to administer elections.

Bennett told Justice Department lawyer Matthew Donnelly that it seemed the department wanted the court to issue an injunction entirely inconsistent with the law the California legislature adopted pursuant to the Elections Clause, and asked how the court could do that.

The case is part of a larger effort under the Trump administration to crack down on alleged non-citizen voting ahead of the crucial November 3 midterm elections.

On October 15, less than three weeks before the midterm races, the Justice Department issued a complaint targeting California, a left-leaning stronghold.

It asked the federal court system to set aside thousands of mail-in ballots that the government says were sent to likely non-citizens.

The lawsuit indicates the Trump administration sent California officials a list of 20,000 names it believes are not eligible to vote, based on citizenship.

Trump has often pushed the discredited claim that the Democratic Party is benefiting from widespread voting by non-citizens, and California has long been one of the targets for his election misinformation.

Earlier this year, Trump denounced the state's primaries after right-wing candidates like Los Angeles mayoral hopeful Spencer Pratt fell short of his expectations. He wrote on social media at the time that there was big cheating by Democrats in California, and then announced that the state would be under investigation from the US attorney's office.

Critics have accused Trump of seeking to dampen voter turnout through intimidation and confusion, and his efforts have caused alarm.

The midterms will decide which party controls the US Congress, as well as key state and local positions.

Voting rights advocates have warned that the Trump administration has not publicly revealed how it compiled its list of non-citizen voters, and whistleblower reports have cast doubt on the accuracy of such lists.

In response to the October 15 lawsuit, California has countered that it has strong safeguards to prevent non-citizens from voting, and said the Justice Department's claims are based on dubious data.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement earlier this month that it was a sad, desperate attempt by Trump to use his politicized Justice Department to try to suppress California voters just three weeks before Election Day, and that the state would continue to carry out free and fair elections in the Golden State.