DDF Responds to Ninth Circuit Ruling: Every Eligible Voter’s Ballot Must Be Counted
October 26, 2026
LOS ANGELES — Today, the Ninth Circuit rejected the Justice Department’s desperate appeal in its lawsuit seeking to stop California from counting the ballots of more than 20,000 voters. Democracy Defenders Fund is part of a pro-voter coalition with Campaign Legal Center, the NAACP, Altshuler Berzon LLP and LULAC, that is seeking to intervene in the case to ensure that the ballots of every registered voter are counted.
In response to today’s ruling, Tianna Mays, legal director at Democracy Defenders Fund, released the following statement:
“Today’s ruling is a serious blow to the Trump administration’s attacks on California voters and their effort to interfere in election administration. They want to undermine confidence in the coming election and create a pretext to attack results they don’t like. We will continue our fight to ensure every eligible voter’s ballot is counted.”
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Democracy Defenders Fund brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.
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