The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the Trump administration’s emergency bid to force California election officials to set aside roughly 20,000 ballots linked to suspected noncitizens, delivering a major setback to the Justice Department one day before the midterm elections.
Just hours after the DOJ filed its emergency petition to the high court, the justices declined to intervene without any noted dissents, leaving intact lower court decisions denying the administration’s request. Federal officials contend the voters’ citizenship must be verified before their ballots are counted, while California officials say the government’s list contains substantial inaccuracies and risks disenfranchising eligible citizens.
The DOJ asked the high court to intervene Monday after a federal district judge rejected its request and a divided appeals court refused to grant relief. State and local officials argued that separating the disputed ballots so close to Election Day would disrupt voting and ballot processing.
DOJ PURSUES LONG-SHOT APPEAL AT SUPREME COURT OVER BID TO ISOLATE 20,000 CALIFORNIA MAIL BALLOTS
In a separate case Monday, Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the administration to stop demanding California segregate the ballots, finding the demands likely violated the Constitution’s elections clause.
This is a developing story and will be updated.