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Justice Department asks appeals court to intervene in California mail ballot lawsuit

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 5 outlets, mostly right-leaning (60%).

6 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Election workers process mail ballots at tables, with a United States Postal Service tray in front.
Image via The Washington TimesHow images are chosenReport this image

The Justice Department said on Thursday that it had asked the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to intervene in its lawsuit against California, seeking a temporary order that would stop the state from counting as many as 20,000 mail ballots. The department says the ballots were cast by noncitizens and went to people on California’s voter rolls flagged as suspected noncitizens. According to the New York Post, state officials are fighting back against the federal list of more than 20,000 people.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. The Justice Department asked the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to intervene in its lawsuit against California.

    Reported byLeft1Center1Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The New York Times
    Center
    The Hill
    Right
    The Washington Times, New York Post

  2. The Justice Department seeks to stop California from counting about 20,000 mail ballots that it says were cast by noncitizens.

    Reported byLeft1Center1Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The New York Times
    Center
    The Hill
    Right
    The Washington Times, New York Post

  3. California state officials are fighting back against the federal list of suspected noncitizen voters.

    One outletNew York Post· Right

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • About 20,000 mail ballots in California were cast by noncitizens or sent to suspected noncitizens.

    The Justice Department and the Trump administration say the ballots went to noncitizens. According to the New York Post, California state officials are fighting back against the federal list.

How each side tells it

Compare views

All sides report the Justice Department asked an appeals court to intervene in its suit over about 20,000 mail ballots it says were cast by noncitizens. Right-side headlines stress the stakes and suspected noncitizen voters, while the center and left headlines describe a procedural request.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    The New York Times headline uses neutral procedural wording, describing the administration asking an appeals court to intervene in a suit over mail ballots.

    Trump Administration Asks Appeals Court to Intervene in California Mail Ballot Suit
    The New York TimesLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    The Hill headline names the Justice Department and the filing plainly, while its description attributes the noncitizen claim to the Trump administration.

    DOJ asks appeals court to intervene for California mail-in ballot lawsuit
    The HillCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    3 outlets

    Right-side headlines lead with the administration and the noncitizen-voter issue; the New York Post adds “bombshell” and “raises stakes” while the Washington Times stays with the filing.

    Trump administration raises stakes in Sensational language“bombshell”The word adds drama that the filing itself does not state.More neutral: majorDisagree with this highlight? lawsuit against California over suspected noncitizen voters
    New York PostRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right1

    bombshell

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    bombshellMore neutral: major

    The word adds drama that the filing itself does not state.

    Trump administration raises stakes in bombshell lawsuit against California over suspected noncitizen voters

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

1 outlet

Leads with

  • procedural step in the lawsuit
  • ballots the administration says went to noncitizens
See the headline from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • request for a temporary block
  • administration’s claim about noncitizen status
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines
  • The HillCenter

    DOJ asks appeals court to intervene for California mail-in ballot lawsuit

    The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday asked an appeals court to intervene in its lawsuit against California to temporarily block the state from counting more than 20,000 mail-in ballots cast by what the Trump administration claims are from non-U.S. citizens. …

    Read at The Hill (opens in a new tab)

From the right

3 outlets

Leads with

  • Trump administration raising stakes
  • suspected noncitizen voters
  • racing to stop ballot counting
See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • The Epoch TimesFar Right

    DOJ Seeks Appeals Court Intervention in California Ballot Lawsuit

    The department sought the intervention after a lower court failed to rule on its emergency application for injunctive relief.

    Read at The Epoch Times (opens in a new tab)
  • New York PostRight

    Trump administration raises stakes in Sensational language“bombshell”The word adds drama that the filing itself does not state.More neutral: majorDisagree with this highlight? lawsuit against California over suspected noncitizen voters

    The Trump administration is racing to stop California from counting ballots cast by alleged noncitizen voters, appealing to the 9th Circuit — as state officials fight back against a federal list of more than 20,000 people.

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)
  • The Washington TimesRight

    DOJ to press appeals court to order California to discard ballots from suspected noncitizens

    The Justice Department said Thursday it will ask a federal appeals court to get involved in its bid to discard as many as 20,000 ballots sent to suspected noncitizens on California's voter rolls.

    Read at The Washington Times (opens in a new tab)

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    59 min later

    Its first report, Oct 22, 10:18 PM EDT

  • Center

    1 hr 54 min later

    Its first report, Oct 22, 11:12 PM EDT

  • Right

    First to report

    The Washington Times, Oct 22, 9:19 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The Washington TimesRightOct 22, 9:19 PM EDT
  2. New York PostRightOct 22, 9:38 PM EDT
  3. The New York TimesLeftOct 22, 10:18 PM EDT
  4. The HillCenterOct 22, 11:12 PM EDT
  5. The Epoch TimesFar RightOct 22, 11:40 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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