Justice Department Asks Supreme Court To Pause Counting of 20,000 California Mail Ballots
Federal officials argue they need time to verify citizenship for a specific group of voters, a move the state says will disrupt an ongoing election.
By Amelia Gupta ·
The Department of Justice filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court on Monday. The goal is to stop the counting of approximately 20,000 mail-in ballots in California. These ballots belong to voters the federal government suspects are not U.S. citizens.
Federal officials argue the votes should not be tallied until citizenship status is verified. California state officials disagree. They say the list provided by the federal government is unreliable. They argue the list likely includes many people who are valid citizens.
This legal battle is part of a priority for the Trump administration this year. The White House has focused on identifying non-citizen voters. The administration believes these voters are rare but wants to ensure strict compliance.
Lower courts have so far sided with California. A federal district judge previously denied the Justice Department’s request. Judge David O. Carter, a nominee of former President Bill Clinton, warned that the demand could strip citizens of their right to vote. The election to decide control of Congress takes place on November 3.
Judge Carter wrote that if the executive branch can dismiss votes based on unproven accusations, the democracy is in danger. He noted that separating the ballots would cause havoc in the election process. He also said it would erode public trust in the democratic system.
California began mail-in voting in early October. The state has about 23 million registered voters. Most receive ballots by mail. Hundreds of thousands of these ballots have already been processed. The Justice Department is asking for a limited stay. This would order California to stop mixing the disputed ballots with valid ones while the case proceeds.
The Justice Department previously tried to speed up the case in a Court of Appeals. That attempt failed. The Supreme Court has granted emergency relief to the Trump administration in other cases. However, the justices previously rejected a different effort by the president to restrict mail-in ballots before this election.
