A United States appeals court has voiced substantial doubt regarding a lawsuit filed by the US regime's Department of Justice, which seeks to compel California to discard thousands of mail-in ballots allegedly marked by non-citizens. During a rare weekend oral argument session, a three-judge panel signaled that the federal government's aggressive intervention might run contrary to established constitutional frameworks.

Circuit Judge Mark Bennett, a conservative appointee, questioned Justice Department attorney Matthew Donnelly extensively during the proceedings. Bennett pointed directly to the Elections Clause of the US Constitution, which explicitly reserves election administration powers for individual states rather than federal authorities. The judge questioned how the judiciary could lawfully issue an injunction that directly contradicts state legislation enacted pursuant to constitutional authority.

The legal challenge forms part of a broader, politically charged effort by the current US administration to clamp down on alleged non-citizen participation ahead of high-stakes midterm elections that will determine congressional control. Critics and voting rights advocates have repeatedly challenged the credibility of the administration's claims, noting that officials have failed to transparently disclose how they compiled a controversial list containing roughly 20,000 targeted voters.

California officials have fiercely pushed back against the federal maneuver, with Governor Gavin Newsom denouncing the lawsuit as a desperate and authoritarian tactic aimed at suppressing voter turnout in a key Democratic stronghold. State leadership maintains that California utilizes robust, multilayered safeguards to ensure voting integrity, characterizing the Justice Department's assertions as politically motivated efforts relying on dubious data.

Source: www.aljazeera.com