The judges raised questions about the Justice Department’s legal authority, the timing of its request and whether the appeals court could intervene before a district judge rules. The case could affect how California handles ballots while election officials process thousands of them each day.

The administration sued California officials in mid-October, saying the state failed to meet a 48-hour deadline to review names flagged on voter rolls. It wants the state to hold the associated ballots out of the count until voters’ immigration status can be checked. A district court hearing was set for Oct. 27, but the federal government asked the appeals court to act sooner.

Justice Department attorney Matthew Donnelly argued that California’s continued processing of the ballots causes irreversible harm by allowing noncitizens to vote, which is illegal under both federal and state law. Noncitizen voting is exceptionally rare, according to the report.

Judge Mark Bennett, appointed by President Donald Trump, questioned whether the appeals court had jurisdiction to consider the dispute before the lower court issued a decision. He also pointed to the Constitution’s Elections Clause, which gives state legislatures authority over the time, place and manner of congressional elections. The executive branch, Bennett said, may dislike how California handles elections, but the state has authority over those procedures.

Judge Gabriel Sanchez, appointed by former President Joe Biden, asked whether the federal demand would improperly require California to administer federal law, raising concerns under the Tenth Amendment. Donnelly countered that the government was asking the state to enforce its own prohibition on noncitizen voting.

Attorneys for Los Angeles County Clerk Dean Logan and California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said the federal list was not a sound basis for withholding ballots. They warned that separating ballots for review could disenfranchise eligible voters.

Seth Waxman, representing Logan, said even a three-minute check of each of the expected 2.75 million mail ballots would require about 140,000 hours of staff time. He also cited a county review of 200 records on the federal list. A filing by Assistant Registrar-Recorder Monica Flores said the sample included canceled or inactive registrations, people with no voting history and voters who appeared to have been born in the United States—evidence of citizenship.

Sam Siegel, representing Weber, said the federal government had not offered credible evidence that noncitizens were voting and argued that Congress, not the executive branch, could change election procedures if it disagreed with California’s approach.

Judge Patrick Bumatay, also appointed by Trump, emphasized the public interest in ensuring that only eligible citizens vote. He suggested an emergency order could provide clarity, telling Siegel that without an injunction, officials would not know whether noncitizens were voting.

Bennett said the panel would try to issue a decision quickly. The dispute comes as the Trump administration has prioritized efforts to identify possible noncitizen voters, while California officials say the proposed review could divert substantial election staff time and risk delaying valid ballots.