The Trump administration filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court on Monday seeking to prevent California from counting mail-in ballots cast by more than 20,000 voters whose citizenship status it questions. The Department of Justice requested that California set aside these ballots pending verification of the voters’ citizenship, citing a list compiled by the Department of Homeland Security.
California officials countered that the list underlying the request is unreliable and could result in the disenfranchisement of thousands of eligible American voters. State authorities noted that voting had already been underway since early October, making it logistically impractical to separate and set aside the disputed ballots from the broader pool of cast votes.
The legal challenge represents an escalation in tensions between the federal administration and the state. A federal judge had previously rejected the administration’s request last week, expressing skepticism about the reliability of the citizenship data. That judge noted concerns about the precedent of allowing executive action to discount votes based on unproven allegations during an active election. A federal appeals court similarly rejected the administration’s request on Friday before the matter was brought to the Supreme Court.
The dispute emerges during a consequential election cycle as Republicans work to maintain their position in Congress. The administration’s repeated assertions regarding voter fraud have been contradicted by multiple studies and state audits, which have found that ineligible voting, including participation by noncitizens, occurs at minimal rates in the electoral system.
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