Trump administration seeks Supreme Court order on California ballots

Summarised from 6 outlets · 7 reports · Updated 2 Nov, 18:08 · Archive

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to force California to set aside mail ballots from over 20,000 people it claims are not U.S. citizens.

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to order California to set aside mail-in ballots cast by more than 20,000 people whom the Justice Department claims are likely not U.S. citizens. The request came after federal courts rejected identical demands from the DOJ.

The Justice Department initially filed a civil lawsuit on 15 October in federal court in Los Angeles, alleging that California was impeding enforcement of federal law barring noncitizens from voting in federal elections. The DOJ sent California's secretary of state and Los Angeles County officials a list of 20,000 names of people it said were registered to vote but not U.S. citizens, and demanded any ballots returned by them be set aside and not tabulated until citizenship could be verified.

A federal judge in Los Angeles rejected the DOJ's request last week. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also rejected it on Friday. Solicitor General D. John Sauer then appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that segregating the ballots would be a 'modest remedy' that would simply preserve them for investigation. 'Once California commingles the challenged ballots with lawful ones, there is no way to get the challenged ballots back,' he wrote. 'The only way to preserve the district court's ability to grant relief to the United States after a full merits proceeding, therefore, is to segregate the challenged ballots now.'

California has defended its election procedures, arguing that its safeguards against noncitizen voting are robust. The state also said the federal list may contain errors that could disenfranchise eligible voters. Federal Judge David Carter, in rejecting the DOJ's request, stated: 'This case is about the right of every American citizen to vote in a free and fair election. 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.'

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement that the administration had lost three times in court and that the latest Supreme Court filing 'reeks of desperation'. He pledged to defend the state 'if the Supreme Court asks California for a response'. The emergency appeal comes just one day before the election, with more than six million mail ballots already returned statewide as of Sunday.

How it is being reported

• Trump asks Supreme Court to ‘segregate’ 20,000 California votesThe Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to "segregate" more than 20,000 mail-in ballots in California ahead of Tuesday's midterms.UPI · 2 Nov, 18:25
• Trump administration asks the Supreme Court to set aside ballots from 20,000 alleged noncitizensThe Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to set aside 20,000 ballots in California from alleged noncitizens. CBS News' Natalie Brand has the latest.CBS News · 2 Nov, 17:49
• Trump takes fight over 20,000 California mail-in ballots to Supreme Court day before electionThe Trump administration made a last-ditch plea to the Supreme Court on Monday, asking the justices to force California to set aside 20,000 mail-in ballots it claims were sent to noncitizens.New York Post · 2 Nov, 17:38
• Trump administration asks Supreme Court to hear California mail-in ballot appealThe Department of Justice's request to the Supreme Court in the California case comes as it appeals dismissal of a lawsuit over Alaska's Senate election.CNBC · 2 Nov, 16:50
• Trump asks Supreme Court to intervene in California ballot caseThe Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene in its effort to force California to set aside mail ballots from thousands of people it claims are not U.S. citizens.CBS News · 2 Nov, 16:47
• DOJ asks for Supreme Court to intervene on California ballot demandsOn the eve of the Nov. 3 election, the Trump administration is hoping the Supreme Court will reverse lower courts that rejected its request to order California to set aside the ballots of thousands of people it says are "likely" noncitizens.NPR · 2 Nov, 16:34
• DOJ appeals to Supreme Court to reverse block on segregating 20K California ballotsThe Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to temporarily block lower-court rulings that denied its request to segregate more than 20,000 California mail-in ballots cast by people it says are likely not U.S. citizens. The DOJ argues the limited injunction would preserve the ballots while their…Fox News · 2 Nov, 15:50

In this story: Trump administration · California · Justice Department · Supreme Court · D. John Sauer · Rob Bonta · David Carter

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