Trump Administration Asks the Supreme Court to Set Aside 20,000 Disputed California Mail Ballots
The Justice Department's appeal, reported by the Associated Press on Monday, asks the justices to require California to set aside ballots from a list of about 20,000 flagged voters — a fight California says could disenfranchise eligible midterm voters.
The Trump administration has appealed to the Supreme Court to require California officials to set aside thousands of disputed mail ballots, the Associated Press reported Monday, escalating a fight over the state's handling of about 20,000 flagged voters in the final hours before Election Day.
The Justice Department sued over the list of about 20,000 voters it says it suspects may be noncitizens. California argues the list is full of errors and warns that setting the ballots aside could disenfranchise eligible midterm voters. The AP noted the administration moved quickly, taking the case to the appeals courts before a district judge had even held a hearing.
The appeal continues a campaign-year priority for the administration, which the AP said has prioritized identifying noncitizen voters this year, even though noncitizen voting is rare. For Newark and Essex County voters, the fight is a national one: it tests how far federal officials can reach into a state's ballot counting on the eve of a midterm election, and the justices' answer could shape challenges in other states after Tuesday.
The administration's earlier bid in the case was rejected by a federal judge on Oct. 28 and upheld on appeal on Oct. 30, Reuters reported, and acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said Saturday that the department would probably appeal to the Supreme Court. The justices had announced no decision on the request as of Monday afternoon.
