Trump Administration Tries to Block More Than 20,000 California Mail-In Ballots at the Supreme Court
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The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to stop the counting of over 20,000 California mail-in ballots while voters’ citizenship is checked, a move California says could strip eligible people of their votes and undermine the election.
The Justice Department filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court on Monday, demanding that California set aside mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 voters listed by the Department of Homeland Security until their citizenship status can be verified. The request comes just one day before the United States midterm elections and follows a federal judge’s earlier rejection of a similar demand, after the court raised serious concerns about the reliability of the list.
California officials say the list is unreliable and that separating the identified ballots would be practically impossible, with the very real risk of disenfranchising thousands of eligible voters. The state noted that voting has been underway since early October, with ballots sent to roughly 23 million registered voters and hundreds of thousands already processed.
"If the executive can discount votes and threaten an ongoing election due to unproven allegations, then our democracy is in danger," wrote Judge David Carter in his earlier ruling.
The administration turned to the Supreme Court after a federal appeals court also denied the request on Friday. Justice Elena Kagan has been assigned to the case, but no deadline has been set for California to respond. The dispute comes amid Republican efforts to retain control of Congress in the upcoming elections. Studies and state audits have repeatedly shown that cases of ineligible voting, including by noncitizens, are rare.