Trump team asks Supreme Court to hold 20,000 California mail ballots
The emergency appeal seeks to set aside votes from individuals the federal government suspects are noncitizens, a move California officials call logistically impossible just one day before midterms.
By Alina Campbell ·
The Trump administration filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, asking the justices to pause the counting of approximately 20,000 mail ballots in California. The request comes one day before the midterm elections, aiming to hold those specific votes until the government can verify the voters' citizenship status.
Federal officials argue that the ballots cast by individuals on a list of suspected noncitizens should not be tallied until their legal status is confirmed. California election leaders counter that the federal list is unreliable and likely contains many U.S. citizens. The state notes that voting began in early October for its roughly 23 million registered voters, and hundreds of thousands of ballots have already been processed.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the high court that a limited injunction is needed to direct California to set the disputed ballots aside. In his filing, Sauer warned, “Once California commingles the challenged ballots with lawful ones, there is no way to get the challenged ballots back.”
Lower courts have so far blocked the federal government’s effort. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who was nominated by President Bill Clinton, denied the Justice Department's initial request. Carter wrote that if the executive branch can discount votes based on unproven allegations, “then our democracy is in danger.” He also warned that segregating the ballots would “wreak havoc” on the election process.
A divided panel of the appeals court upheld Carter's decision in a 2-1 vote. The two judges who supported the state, one appointed by Trump and one by President Joe Biden, rejected the federal bid to intervene early. The third judge, also a Trump appointee, dissented, arguing that California’s refusal to separate the ballots encourages a violation of federal law.
The Justice Department has pushed for a fast resolution by asking the appeals court to step in sooner than standard procedure allows. That request was unsuccessful. The administration has secured several emergency wins at the Supreme Court during Trump's second term, though the justices previously rejected a different presidential push to restrict mail ballots before these midterms.
California officials state that finding and isolating the specific challenged ballots now is logistically impossible due to the volume of mail already processed. The case will now be reviewed by the Supreme Court as the state prepares to count votes for Tuesday's contest to determine control of Congress.
