20,000 ballots in dispute: Trump asks Supreme Court to intervene, requiring California to set aside ballots linked to alleged noncitizens
Supreme Court request
The Trump administration filed its request on Monday, seeking an order that would make California election workers set aside ballots associated with the people named by the Justice Department. The department wants the ballots kept out of the count until citizenship checks are completed.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer described the proposed measure as limited. He argued that ballots cast by noncitizens should not weaken the value of valid votes.
Disputed voter list
The conflict began when the Justice Department sent a list of 20,000 people to California’s secretary of state and Los Angeles County’s chief elections official. The department said they were registered voters who were not U.S. citizens and asked that their returned ballots not be counted pending verification.
The officials raised doubts about whether the list was accurate. They also warned that the requested action could prevent eligible voters from having their ballots counted.
Courts reject earlier bids
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge David Carter turned down the administration’s request for a temporary order barring workers from counting ballots associated with the alleged noncitizens. The Justice Department then sought similar relief from the 9th Circuit.
A three-judge panel split 2-1 on Friday and rejected the department’s request to separate the ballots while citizenship was verified. The administration has now asked the Supreme Court to intervene.
Voting underway in California
California voting has been open since early October, and more than 23 million people are registered statewide. By Sunday, the secretary of state’s office reported that more than 6 million mail ballots had been returned.
The Supreme Court request concerns whether ballots tied to the disputed list must be held aside during the verification process. The state officials’ concerns focus on the list’s reliability and the risk to eligible voters.
Key points
- The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to require California to hold ballots tied to 20,000 people it says are noncitizens.
- California officials questioned the list’s accuracy and warned eligible voters could be disenfranchised.
- A federal judge and a divided 9th Circuit panel rejected earlier requests to separate the ballots.
- More than 6 million mail ballots had been returned in California by Sunday.