Supreme Court Rejects Trump Administration Bid to Set Aside 20,000 California Ballots on Election Eve
The justices denied the Justice Department's emergency request hours after it was filed Monday, leaving California's ballot procedures in place as the midterms open Tuesday — the third court to refuse the demand.
The Supreme Court on Monday quickly rejected a bid by President Donald Trump's administration to temporarily block California from counting mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters who federal officials allege are likely non-U.S. citizens, Reuters reported. Acting on the eve of the midterm elections, the justices denied the Justice Department's emergency request just hours after it was filed, shutting down a claim that could have injected uncertainty into election outcomes in the state.
The court's brief, one-sentence order offered no explanation, as is common when it handles emergency matters, and no justice publicly dissented. The court also did not ask California for a response to the administration's request — a step that, when taken, usually signals serious consideration of an emergency case. The administration had demanded that California separate any allegedly unlawful ballots from other ballots and not count them until those voters are determined to be U.S. citizens. The list of about 20,000 registered voters was amassed by the Department of Homeland Security and sent to California and Los Angeles County officials.
Every court to consider the demand has now refused it. U.S. District Judge David Carter rejected the Justice Department's attempt on October 28, writing that never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own constitutional election procedures. A federal appeals court refused the request on Friday, saying in a 2-1 decision that forcing California to use the list could bar valid votes from being cast and jeopardize the Los Angeles County election; Circuit Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented, calling the government's request reasonable.
The Justice Department sued California in October, invoking a federal law that makes it a crime for noncitizens to vote in federal contests, and Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the court Monday that the United States had identified more than 20,000 individuals who appear to be registered to vote in California but who, in the government's view, are likely not citizens. Reuters noted that multiple studies and state audits show ineligible voting, including by noncitizens, is rare. The ruling changes nothing about procedures in Illinois, where polls open at 6 a.m. Tuesday; it settles, for Election Day, who runs California's count — California.
