Trump DOJ files ‘emergency’ request to bypass judge in ballot-freezing fight

President Donald Trump’s Justice Department filed an “emergency” request with an appeals court to order California to set aside the mail ballots of more than 20,000 California voters, even though the judge handling the case has not yet ruled.In a motion filed Friday with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the department asked the court to act by Saturday.U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who in January dismissed a separate Justice Department lawsuit seeking California’s voter rolls and called the demand “unprecedented and illegal,” has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday on the department’s push to have the ballots set aside, court records show.The department wants California to set aside the mail ballots of more than 20,000 registered voters whom federal agencies flagged as likely noncitizens, and to keep them out of the count until each voter’s citizenship is verified. In January, Carter wrote that “the Executive may not unilaterally...