The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an emergency request from President Donald Trump’s administration to set aside thousands of California mail-in ballots, allowing the state to continue counting votes under its existing election procedures.
The decision came Monday, just one day before the November 3 midterm elections, dealing another legal setback to the administration's efforts to challenge the eligibility of more than 20,000 California voters.
The Justice Department had asked the Supreme Court to require California election officials to separate ballots cast by voters whose citizenship the federal government questioned. The administration argued that those ballots should remain identifiable until officials could determine whether the voters were legally eligible to participate.
California officials strongly opposed the request, arguing that the government's list contained significant errors and that changing election procedures at the last minute could prevent legitimate votes from being counted.
The Supreme Court denied the emergency application in a brief, one-sentence order. The justices provided no explanation, recorded no dissents and did not request a response from California before issuing their decision.
Lower Courts Had Already Rejected the Administration's Arguments
Monday's ruling followed two earlier defeats for the Trump administration.
On Friday, a federal appeals court ruled 2-1 against the Justice Department, expressing concerns that the proposed ballot restrictions could disenfranchise eligible voters and create unnecessary confusion just days before Election Day.
The majority judges also questioned whether the courts were the appropriate place to pursue changes to federal election procedures.
"If the United States believes different procedures are necessary for vote-by-mail ballots, we believe it should take that suggestion to Congress, not the courts," the judges wrote.
Earlier, U.S. District Judge David Carter rejected the administration's request, finding that it likely conflicted with longstanding constitutional principles recognizing states' authority to administer elections.
Questions Remain About Voter Citizenship List
A major point of disagreement involves the accuracy of the federal government's voter list.
California officials maintain that some individuals flagged by the Justice Department are American citizens, while others are not currently registered to vote.
An analysis submitted by the UCLA Voting Rights Project found that 42% of the names on the government's list could not be matched to California's current voter registration records.
The administration argued that separating the disputed ballots was necessary because identifying individual votes after they were counted would be impossible.
For now, the Supreme Court's decision means California election officials can continue processing mail-in ballots without implementing the administration's proposed restrictions.
