Over 20,000 ballots remain as supreme court rejects trump request to set aside california votes tied to alleged noncitizens
High court denies DOJ request
On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected the Justice Department’s bid to sequester California mail ballots cast by voters the federal government described as “identified as likely noncitizens.” The court gave no explanation, and no justice publicly noted a dissent. The decision came quickly and without the court first requesting a response from the opposing party. The article says that speed and the lack of a response request were notable, though unexplained orders are not unusual in emergency cases.
Appeals panel rejected ballot separation
The DOJ went to the Supreme Court after a divided federal appellate panel declined to order California to separate more than 20,000 ballots. The request also sought a process to check the citizenship status of those voters before their ballots were counted.
The two judges in the appellate majority were appointed by Donald Trump and Joe Biden. They said California already had a verification process and expressed concern that the DOJ’s effort would undermine the constitutional system for conducting elections.
Judges questioned data and voter impact
The appellate majority questioned the reliability of the government’s data and warned that the proposed approach could disenfranchise eligible voters. The panel’s dissenting judge, also appointed by Trump, argued that the requested relief was limited.
Key points
- The Supreme Court denied the Trump administration’s request concerning California mail ballots.
- The DOJ sought to separate more than 20,000 ballots and verify voters’ citizenship before counting them.
- An appellate majority cited existing state procedures and raised concerns about voter disenfranchisement and government data reliability.
- The high court issued an unexplained order without first requesting a response from the opposing party.