一名联邦法官周三驳回了司法部的一项请求，该请求旨在阻止加利福尼亚州统计政府认定为潜在非公民选民的2万多人的选票。
A federal judge on Wednesday declined a Justice Department request to stop California from counting the votes of over 20,000 people the government identified as potential noncitizen voters.
美国地区法官戴维·O·卡特裁定，政府要求隔离一批选票的请求在选举过程中提出过晚，且其试图隔离非公民选民的做法缺乏可信度，可能导致选民被错误地剥夺投票权。
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter ruled that the government’s request to segregate a tranche of ballots was delivered too late in the elections process and that their attempts to isolate noncitizen voters lacked credibility, potentially leading to erroneously disenfranchised voters.
卡特在判决书中写道：“本法院不会因为原告毫无根据的指控，而剥夺已满足选民登记要求的加利福尼亚人的基本权利。”司法部周三晚些时候向第九巡回上诉法院对该裁决提出上诉。
“This Court will not deprive Californians who have met the requirements for voter registration of their fundamental right because of Plaintiff’s unfounded allegations,” Carter wrote. The Justice Department late Wednesday appealed the ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
自7月以来，加利福尼亚州与司法部一直在就该州选民名册上涉嫌存在的非公民问题进行法律拉锯战，当时国土安全部称已在加利福尼亚州的选民名册上识别出190,832名潜在非公民选民。
California and the Justice Department have been in a legal back-and-forth over alleged noncitizens on the state’s voter rolls since July, when the Department of Homeland Security said it had identified 190,832 potential noncitizen voters on California’s rolls.
到10月，该数字降至2万个名字，这些名字被保存在一个加密优盘中并发送给洛杉矶县书记官。加利福尼亚州选举官员被指示保留名单上人员的选票，或将名单上人员提交的已完成选票搁置一旁，直到其公民身份得到核实。
By October, that number was lowered to 20,000 names, which were sent in a list to the Los Angeles County clerk on a password-protected thumb drive. California election officials were instructed to hold on to the ballots of people listed or set aside completed ballots submitted by people on the thumb drive until their citizenship could be verified.
在周二的听证会上，司法部请求法院强制加利福尼亚州搁置其10月与县官员共享的名单上所列人员的选票，而该州则希望法官实际上阻止司法部干预该州的选举管理工作。
At a hearing Tuesday, the DOJ asked the court to force California to set aside the ballots of any person identified on the list it shared with county officials in October, while the state wanted the judge to effectively stop the Justice Department from interfering with the state’s election administration.
在长达26页的命令中，卡特批评政府试图在大选前夕胁迫州政府放弃其既定程序。
In the 26-page order, Carter criticized the government for what he said was an attempt to coerce a state government into abandoning its procedures on the eve of an election.
他表示，允许特朗普政府利用“将美国公民也一并囊括在内的有缺陷数据源”扣押选票，将允许总统及其盟友为其自身政治目的制造“混乱”，以扰乱选举。
He said that allowing the Trump administration to sequester ballots using “faulty data sources that sweep in U.S. citizens” would permit the president and his allies to create “chaos for their own political purposes” to disrupt the election.
卡特写道：“超过2万名加利福尼亚州登记选民可能会失去几代美国人为之奋斗保留的权利。” “提起这起诉讼，行政部门想让本庭相信其作为唯一主权者统治一切。但加利福尼亚州及其人民也是主权者。” 卡特补充说，现行联邦刑法典已足以允许联邦执法部门起诉在美选举中投票的非公民，并表示加利福尼亚州有自己的程序来注销不合格选民登记。
“Over 20,000 registered Californians would potentially lose the right that generations of Americans have fought to preserve,” Carter wrote. “In bringing this lawsuit, the Executive would have this Court believe that it reigns as a sole sovereign. But California and its people are sovereign, too.”Carter added that the existing federal criminal code is sufficient to allow federal law enforcement to prosecute noncitizens for voting in U.S. elections, and said California has procedures of its own to cancel ineligible voter registrations.
卡特说：“然而，行政部门请求的救济将造成严重破坏并扰乱已在进行的选举，对选举工作人员和选民产生寒蝉效应，并抹杀美国公民的选票。” “行政部门不能用自己非法且违宪的方案，取代国会精心制定的补救措施。”
“The Executive’s requested relief, however, would wreak havoc and disrupt the election that is already underway, create a chilling effect on election workers and voters alike, and discount the votes of United States citizens,” Carter said. “The Executive Branch cannot replace the remedy Congress carefully enacted with its own unlawful and unconstitutional solution instead.”
司法部已指控28人在加利福尼亚州以非公民身份登记或投票，并继续作为“保护选举行动”的一部分进行公开逮捕。关于10月在加利福尼亚州逮捕涉嫌非公民一事，卡特告诉司法部，其可以继续指控非公民，但不能指示加利福尼亚州如何计票或不计某些选票。
The Justice Department had charged 28 people with noncitizen registration or voting in California, and it has continued to make publicized arrests as a part of “Operation Protect the Vote.”Carter told the DOJ, in reference to the arrests made in California of alleged noncitizens in October, that it can continue to charge noncitizens but cannot tell California how to count or not count certain ballots.
加利福尼亚州律师表示，他们听说司法部曾威胁选举官员，如果他们统计名单上那些人的选票，将面临刑事起诉。
Attorneys for California said they had heard the Justice Department had threatened election officials with criminal prosecution if they tabulated the ballots of those on this list.
短暂休庭后，卡特在听证会结束时表示：“本法院认为，明智的做法是，针对州和县当选雇员的任何威胁应立即停止。” 州政府律师还表示，加利福尼亚州没有任何州法律或法规允许在不通知选民的情况下隔离选票。县官员将不得不人工审核选票，而不予处理。
After a short recess, Carter said at the hearing’s conclusion, “This court believes it would be wise that any threats to state and county elected employees cease immediately.”Attorneys for the state also said there are no state laws or regulations in California that allow ballots to be segregated without informing a voter. County officials would have to review ballots by hand and not process them.
本报道已根据法院裁决的进一步信息和司法部提起的上诉进行了更新。
This story has been updated with further information from the court ruling and the appeal filed by the Justice Department.