Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court To Intervene in California Ballot Dispute One Day Before Midterm Election

The Trump administration turned to the Supreme Court on Monday in a last-minute bid to block California from counting roughly 20,000 mail-in ballots the Justice Department claims may have been cast by noncitizens. The request could inject the nation’s highest court into the midterm election just one day before voters head to the polls.The emergency appeal follows a ruling Friday from the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which rejected the administration’s request to set the disputed ballots aside. That two-one decision warned that segregating the ballots could have “potentially catastrophic effects on the entire system.”“California has refused to work with the Federal Government to protect against noncitizen voting, which dilutes lawful votes, so @TheJusticeDept has filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court to require California to segregate mail-in ballots associated with more than 20,000 likely noncitizens until their citizenship can be verified,” the acting Deputy Attorney General, Trent McCotter, announced on X.“We will continue pursuing every available legal avenue to protect the integrity of our elections and ensure federal law is enforced,” he wrote.The dispute began on October 15, when the Justice Department sued California in U.S. District Court at Los Angeles, seeking to stop state election officials from counting mail-in ballots “from likely non-citizens in the upcoming federal election until the voter’s citizenship status can be determined.” The department had previously handed Los Angeles County officials a thumb drive containing the names of voters it suspected were not citizens, who are prohibited by law from voting in federal elections.U.S. District Judge David Carter, a President Clinton appointee, rejected the request on Wednesday, ruling that California was not obligated to set aside the ballots or delay counting them. “This case is about the right of every American citizen to vote in a free and fair election,” Judge Carter wrote in his decision.He went further, accusing the administration of overreach: “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 elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch. In bringing this lawsuit, the Executive would have this Court believe that it reigns as a sole sovereign. But California and its people are sovereign, too.”Judge Carter also cautioned that segregating the ballots would “wreak havoc” on the election and undermine public trust: “If the Executive can discount votes and threaten an ongoing election due to unproven allegations, then our democracy is in danger.”In its filing to the Supreme Court, Solicitor General D. John Sauer pushed back on warnings that the administration’s request would cause disruption. “That doomsday prediction ignores that segregating ballots is a routine remedy when the lawfulness of ballots is questioned,” Judge Sauer wrote.He added that failing to act could cause lasting harm: “If the United States is correct, and the individuals it has identified (or even some of those individuals) turn out to be aliens who are unlawfully voting in California, then the United States will suffer irreparable harm from the commingling of their ballots with lawful votes.”California officials have disputed the credibility of the federal government’s list and criticized the administration for declining to disclose its source. State officials also argue it’s too late in the election cycle to verify the citizenship status of the flagged voters. Democrats and immigration advocates have gone further, warning the lawsuit could lay the groundwork for voter disenfranchisement.The case now lands with Justice Elena Kagan, who handles emergency matters originating from California. As of Monday, she had not set a deadline for the state to respond and could rule alone or refer the matter to the full Supreme Court.

Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court To Intervene in California Ballot Dispute One Day Before Midterm Election

Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court To Intervene in California Ballot Dispute One Day Before Midterm Election

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