US Supreme Court rejects Trump administration bid to invalidate California ballots
The high court denied an emergency appeal to stop California from counting 20,000 mail-in ballots flagged by federal officials as potentially noncitizens.
The United States Supreme Court on Monday rejected an emergency appeal from the administration of President Donald Trump to prevent California from counting more than 20,000 mail-in ballots. According to the Hindustan Times, the Justice Department sought to set aside the ballots because it suspected the citizenship status of the voters was questionable.
The administration argued that segregating the ballots was a modest request that would allow legal votes to be counted. However, California officials stated the list appeared to contain errors and that setting the ballots aside could disenfranchise legal voters. A district court judge had previously denied a similar request, warning it could disenfranchise citizens in the midterm elections.
The ruling comes on the eve of the midterm elections on November 3, which will determine whether the Republican or Democratic party controls the US Congress. In the Senate, 35 of 100 seats are being contested, with Republicans currently leading with 22 seats and Democrats holding 13. In the House of Representatives, all 435 seats are up for election.
In Washington, Chief Judge James Boasberg ruled that the administration's efforts to make last-minute demands of California election officials violated the Constitution. He noted that the Elections Clause commits authority over election rules to the states and Congress alone.
Voting across all 50 states will take place on Tuesday, November 3. Polls are scheduled to open between 6am and 8am local time, with closing times varying by state and time zone.
