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Tuesday, October 27, 2026

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Voting · Tuesday, October 27, 2026

Appeals court dismisses the California mail-ballot appeal

The File desk · Oct. 27, 2026, 6:27 a.m. ET

Partially confirmed2 primary sources

Status

Partially confirmed. The Ninth Circuit's order of October 26, 2026, in , dismisses the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. The dispute over whether the government's list identifies noncitizens is not decided in that order.
  • Confirmed
    The order grants the County's motion to dismiss the appeal and denies the emergency motion as moot. Document 97 prints the hearing for October 27, 2026, at 1:00 p.m., with no time zone.
  • Disputed
    The United States calls the people on its list likely noncitizens. California's filing says the list is deeply flawed. The appeals court did not pick a winner.
Judge David Carter's hearing is still on the calendar for Tuesday, October 27, 2026. On Monday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed the Justice Department's appeal in , , because the trial judge had not yet had a real chance to rule. Document 97 prints that hearing at 1:00 p.m. and does not print a time zone. The order itself does not print a clock.1
The per curiam order, filed October 26, 2026, says the court grants the County's motion to dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction and denies as moot the United States's emergency motion for relief. Lack of jurisdiction means the appeal ends without a decision on the merits. The court did not decide whether the people on the list are noncitizens, and it did not decide whether any mail ballot must be set aside. That citizenship dispute stays with the trial judge. Judge Bennett and Judge Sanchez each wrote a concurrence. Judge Bumatay dissented. The case in the trial court is still No. in Los Angeles.1
The order says that on October 13, 2026, the United States sent California a list of over 20,000 people it called “likely” noncitizens, and asked that ballots from those people be set aside until citizenship was checked. The appeals court did not order any ballot set aside. The order says the United States failed to give the district court a real chance to consider the short-term order, so the appeal cannot go forward.2
Why it matters (Estimate). Estimate. Election Day is November 3, 2026. The appeals court did not tell California to hold any mail ballot back, and nothing in the order says a ballot has already been set aside. A reader in California still cannot tell from this order whether their name is on the government's list. What changes today is the hearing Document 97 prints for 1:00 p.m. on October 27, 2026, and that filing does not print a time zone. The citizenship dispute is in that hearing, with the trial judge.
The same order says Judge David Carter has said again that he will hold the hearing on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, and that he has committed to “rul[ing] promptly after hearing from the Parties.” Document 97 prints the hearing at 1:00 p.m. and says Los Angeles County's sampling of the list “demonstrated that it is deeply flawed.” The order does not say the judge has ruled.
How we know

Notes

  1. 1., , U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, filed October 26, 2026. https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2026/10/26/26-7070.pdf The district court number is . The order says: “Accordingly, we grant the County’s motion to dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction and deny as moot the United States’s emergency motion for relief.” It cites as the statute for certain injunction appeals and says that route does not apply here. Concurrence by Judge Bennett. Concurrence by Judge Sanchez. Dissent by Judge Bumatay. The order says Judge David Carter “has reiterated his plans to hold a hearing on Tuesday, October 27, 2026” and “has committed to ‘rul[ing] promptly after hearing from the Parties.’” Charges are allegations; defendants are presumed innocent. This order is not a criminal judgment.
  2. 2.Same order. It says that on October 13, 2026, the United States sent “a list of over 20,000 ‘likely’ noncitizens.” It says ballots were mailed to all registered voters on October 1, 2026, citing . It says the suit was filed on October 15, 2026, and that the appeal was taken on October 22, 2026. It says the United States emphasized that the County had processed more than 331,000 ballots since counting began on October 5, 2026. That figure is the order's account of the government's brief. The order says the government relies on . California's supplemental opposition, Document 97, filed October 24, 2026, prints Date October 27, 2026, Time 1:00 p.m., Courtroom 1, Judge Hon. David O. Carter, and it does not print a time zone. It says Los Angeles County's sampling of the list “demonstrated that it is deeply flawed.” https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cacd.1043513/gov.uscourts.cacd.1043513.97.0.pdf This desk did not re-open the district docket on Tuesday. The Oct. 25 reply, Document 100, was not re-fetched. The appeals order confirms October 27, 2026, and does not print a clock.

What is still unknown or disputed

  • Whether Judge David Carter will grant the request after the hearing. Not in the order.
  • A time zone for the 1:00 p.m. hearing. Document 97 does not print one. The order does not print a clock.
  • Whether any mail ballot has been segregated. Not in the order.
  • The appeals court did not decide whether the people on the list are noncitizens.

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Order in United States v. State of California, No. 26-7070

    U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · October 26, 2026

    The court dismisses the appeal for lack of jurisdiction and denies the emergency motion as moot. The trial hearing remains October 27, 2026.

    https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2026/10/26/26-7070.pdf

  2. Source 2

    California's supplemental opposition to the temporary restraining order

    U.S. District Court for the Central District of California · October 24, 2026

    The caption prints October 27, 2026, at 1:00 p.m., Courtroom 1, before Hon. David O. Carter, and it does not print a time zone. California says a sample of the federal list is deeply flawed.

    https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cacd.1043513/gov.uscourts.cacd.1043513.97.0.pdf