Trump admin asks Supreme Court to set aside 20,000 California ballots over citizenship row a day before midterms | World News
The Trump administration has asked the US Supreme Court to intervene in a dispute over approximately 20,000 mail ballots in California, arguing that votes cast by people suspected of not being US citizens should be kept aside until their eligibility can be verified.The emergency appeal was filed on Monday, a day before the midterm elections, AP reported.It followed an appeals court decision rejecting the administration’s request to set aside the ballots, which belong to voters whose citizenship status the federal government has questioned.The Justice Department has argued that California should prevent the disputed ballots from being counted until officials establish whether the voters are eligible. State authorities have challenged the reliability of the federal government’s list, saying it is likely to include many US citizens.The dispute centres on the administration’s efforts to identify suspected noncitizen voters, even though such cases are rare. The Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court for a limited injunction directing California to stop mixing the disputed ballots with those cast by eligible voters while the legal proceedings continue.California has been conducting its elections by mail since early October. The state sends ballots to all its approximately 23 million registered voters, and hundreds of thousands of ballots have already been processed.Lower courts have so far ruled in favour of California. A district court judge rejected the Justice Department’s request, warning that separating the ballots could prevent eligible citizens from having their votes counted in the midterm elections.US District Judge David O. Carter said segregating the ballots could “wreak havoc” on the election and undermine public confidence in the democratic process. Carter, who was nominated by former President Bill Clinton, also warned against allowing unproven allegations to affect an ongoing election.“If the Executive can discount votes and threaten an ongoing election due to unproven allegations, then our democracy is in danger,” Carter wrote.The Justice Department has attempted to accelerate the case, including by asking an appeals court to intervene before it had fully progressed through the lower courts. That request was unsuccessful.The latest appeal puts the dispute before the Supreme Court as voting continues across California. The administration has secured several favourable outcomes through emergency appeals to the justices, although the court previously rejected Trump’s attempt to restrict mail ballots ahead of the midterm elections.
