A federal appeals court has scheduled a rare Sunday hearing to consider arguments in the Justice Department's voting lawsuit against California. The hearing is set for 1 p.m. PDT and follows an expedited appeal by the Trump administration.

The Trump administration claims a district judge was too slow to address allegations that approximately 20,000 potential noncitizens were on California's voter rolls. The Justice Department is seeking to segregate ballots cast by these individuals.

A three-judge panel, composed of two appointees by former President Donald Trump and one appointee by former President Joe Biden, will hear the arguments. The case centers on the Justice Department's efforts to ensure the integrity of federal elections.

California officials have contested the administration's claims, arguing that the list of alleged noncitizens is unverified and may include lawful voters. Despite these challenges, the Justice Department recently announced charges against roughly 28 individuals from the list for voting and immigration-related offenses.

Earlier in the month, the Justice Department filed its lawsuit against California, alleging the state failed to adequately review a list of individuals the administration claimed had received mail-in ballots for the upcoming midterm election. The department had previously sent letters to all California counties, requesting assistance in identifying potential noncitizens on voter rolls within 48 hours.

In court filings, Los Angeles officials stated that a preliminary analysis of 200 names from the 20,000-person list revealed a significant percentage of individuals claiming U.S. birth and many with no voting history. According to the filing, nearly 40% of those individuals indicated they were born in the United States, and 71.2% had no voting history.

The Justice Department has emphasized the importance of ensuring election integrity and has urged counties to cooperate in identifying citizenship status. The administration warned that failure to act could result in significant federal scrutiny and legal exposure for the counties involved.

This legal battle highlights ongoing tensions between federal and state authorities over election security and voter roll maintenance, particularly in the lead-up to a major election.