The US Supreme Court rejected the Donald Trump administration's request to order California to set aside around 20,000 mail-in ballots that the federal government linked to alleged noncitizens. The decision came in a one-line unsigned order that contained no noted dissent from any justice.
The court ruled only on the request for emergency relief. California election officials had not been asked to respond before the order was issued. The Justice Department had insisted that the ballots be set aside and not counted until the citizenship of the people who cast them was confirmed.
The measure was rejected at three judicial levels
The request reached the Supreme Court after a federal appeals court refused to order the ballots to be set aside. Before that, US District Judge David Carter rejected the request for a temporary restraining order against California.
Carter said that the administration's procedure for identifying the alleged noncitizens was “riddled with uncertainty and errors.” In his ruling, he warned that people who meet the requirements for registration must not be deprived of their fundamental right on the basis of unverified allegations.
“Constitutional rights and our democracy are at stake. The public interest requires their protection,” Judge David Carter said.The dispute affects millions of ballots
The Trump administration sent letters to authorities in California and Los Angeles County claiming that more than 20,000 people on the voter rolls were not US citizens. Such lists were later sent to all 58 counties in the state.
State and local election officials challenged the accuracy of the data and warned that implementing the request could affect citizens who had voted lawfully. More than 23 million voters are registered in California, and more than 6 million mail-in ballots have already been returned to election offices.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against California and Dean Logan, the registrar of voters and official responsible for counting ballots in Los Angeles County. Both the federal court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to order the ballots to be set aside.
The administration is taking similar action in other states
The dispute is unfolding in the final days before the US midterm elections. President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that a significant number of noncitizens vote in US elections, although confirmed cases are rare. Voting by noncitizens is a violation of federal law.
Federal prosecutors asked authorities in Washington to set aside the ballots of more than 400 people whom they claimed were not US citizens. State Secretary Steve Hobbs said that many people on the list were in fact US citizens. The Justice Department also filed a lawsuit seeking to block the certification of the Senate election in Alaska if Republican Senator Dan Sullivan lost to Democrat Mary Peltola, but a judge rejected the claim.
Sources: cbsnews.com