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California governor asks US judges to resist Trump attempts to seize ballots · GNN Daily Breaking News

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  Speaker 1: California Governor Gavin Newsom sent a formal warning letter to
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  Speaker 1: the chief district judges of California's four federal judicial districts,
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  Speaker 1: urging them to resist potential emergency requests by the Department
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  Speaker 1: of Justice to confiscate state ballots or voting equipment. Sent
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  Speaker 1: late Saturday, the preemptive move highlights growing conflict between state
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  Speaker 1: leadership and federal authorities with fewer than 48 hours remaining
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  Speaker 1: before polls close in the 2026 midterm elections. In the
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  Speaker 1: communication sent to federal courts in the Northern, Southern, Eastern,
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  Speaker 1: and Central Districts of California, Newsom expressed grave concern that
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  Speaker 1: federal prosecutors will attempt to obtain ex-part search warrants to
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  Speaker 1: seize physical ballots. digital voting logs, or tabulation hardware prior
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  Speaker 1: to official election certification. The governor asserted that such warrants
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  Speaker 1: would serve primarily to disrupt the lawful processing and counting
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  Speaker 1: of votes, citing the Department of Justice's persistent criminal investigations
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  Speaker 1: into alleged non-citizen voter registration across several California jurisdictions. Accompanying
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  Speaker 1: the governor's letter was a legal memorandum outlining nonpartisan judicial
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  Speaker 1: resources and constitutional precedents governing federal search warrant applications for
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  Speaker 1: state election materials. The state's legal guidance emphasizes that the U.S.
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  Speaker 1: Constitution delegates primary authority over election administration and ballot handling
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  Speaker 1: to state governments. arguing that federal search warrants aimed at
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  Speaker 1: interrupting local tabulation lack legal standing and violate fundamental federalism principles.
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  Speaker 1: The governor's initiative follows a series of federal court actions
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  Speaker 1: in San Francisco, where a U.S. district judge issued a
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  Speaker 1: preliminary injunction barring the Justice Department from threatening state and
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  Speaker 1: local election workers with criminal prosecution. Despite the court's protective order,
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  Speaker 1: State officials expressed concern that federal law enforcement could attempt
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  Speaker 1: to bypass local election offices by directly targeting regional polling
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  Speaker 1: centers or county registrar facilities. California legal officers confirmed that
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  Speaker 1: state authorities remain prepared to file immediate emergency appeals should
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  Speaker 1: any federal magistrate execute warrants related to active voting infrastructure
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  Speaker 1: before November 3rd.