Justice Department Seeks Supreme Court Ruling on 20,000 Contested California Ballots
Federal officials request emergency intervention to pause the counting of ballots for voters they identify as likely noncitizens, a move courts have previously blocked.
By Takeshi Faure ·
The Department of Justice filed a notice with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, requesting the high court intervene in the dispute over California voter rolls. This action comes one day before Election Day and asks the justices to order the state to stop processing ballots for thousands of voters until their citizenship status is verified.
The Justice Department identifies 20,000 individuals on California's voter roll as likely noncitizens. The department argues that ballots from these voters should not be counted until their status is confirmed. However, Los Angeles County election officials note that the actual number of disputed ballots is lower because many names on the federal list correspond to inactive registrations or voters who did not receive mailed ballots.
Lower courts have already rejected the federal government's request for an emergency injunction. A divided panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision on Friday, stating that there is a material risk that halting the count would disenfranchise voters and jeopardize the county's election. The panel applied the Purcell principle, which discourages changing election rules on the eve of a vote, and cited the National Voter Registration Act, which restricts removing ineligible voters within 90 days of a federal election.
The Supreme Court has not yet indicated whether it will take up the case or rule before Tuesday. The appeal follows a temporary restraining order issued by a federal judge in San Francisco late Friday. That order barred the Trump administration from threatening or coercing election officials to stop processing ballots. The Justice Department has appealed that restraining order as well.
Federal officials have intensified their oversight of California elections in recent weeks. The department sent subpoenas to state election officials and warned that they could face criminal prosecution for allowing ineligible voters to cast ballots. A federal judge referred to these actions last week as a broad, ongoing pattern of attempted election interference. The 9th Circuit panel included two Trump appointees, Mark Bennett and Patrick Bumatay, and one Biden appointee, Gabriel Sanchez. Judge Bumatay dissented from the majority opinion that rejected the emergency request.
