Trump administration asks Supreme Court to halt counting of 20,000 California mail ballots
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Lawyers for the Trump administration filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court seeking an injunction to segregate about 20,000 California mail ballots alleged to belong to non-citizens, days before the midterm election.
Lawyers for the Trump administration filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court on the eve of the midterm election, requesting that the Court issue a limited injunction directing California to set aside roughly 20,000 mail ballots that federal officials have identified as possibly cast by non-citizens. Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that the Court should order California to segregate the suspected ballots while the appeal to the Ninth Circuit proceeds and the Court reviews the matter.
The request was first directed to Justice Elena Kagan, who may seek a response from California, a process that could take several days. The administration has previously been rejected by a federal judge in Los Angeles and twice by the Ninth Circuit, which found the complaint untimely and constitutionally flawed.
California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the appeal as baseless and described the claim of an emergency as dubious, noting that the administration had waited several days before seeking relief.
State officials, including Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan, have questioned the reliability of the federal list used to flag the 20,000 voters. Analyses by UCLA’s Voting Rights Project and Los Angeles County officials found that a substantial portion of the names on the list were either U.S. citizens, not registered to vote, or born in the United States.
Attorneys for California argue that complying with the request while voting is underway would cause widespread disruption and could disenfranchise legitimate voters. Justice Department officials maintain that the request is limited to setting aside the flagged ballots pending verification of citizenship, and they contend that emergency relief is needed because California law allows ballots to be counted before Election Day, making later segregation difficult.
The Ninth Circuit judges emphasized that the Constitution’s Elections Clause gives states primary authority over the “times, places and manner” of congressional elections, unless Congress enacts a different rule. A dissenting judge described the administration’s proposal as a “reasonable request” and a “modest remedy.”
Legal scholars and advocacy groups have warned that the Supreme Court is likely to reject the petition, arguing that the Constitution reserves election-procedure decisions for the states unless Congress provides clear guidance.