Supreme Court rejects Trump request to stop California vote count
The US Supreme Court has denied a Justice Department request to set aside 20,000 disputed ballots in California amid claims regarding non-US citizens.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- The US Supreme Court denied a Justice Department request to sequester 20,000 ballots in California.
- The federal government claimed the ballots might have been issued to non-US citizens, a claim challenged by state election officials.
- Lower court rulings stand, ending the Trump administration's effort to disqualify the disputed votes.
The United States Supreme Court has turned down a request from the Justice Department seeking to set aside 20,000 ballots in California that federal authorities alleged may have been issued to individuals who are not US citizens.
The Supreme Court announced its decision in a concise one-line order stating that the application for an injunction pending appeal had been denied. This ruling means that previous decisions made by lower courts remain in effect, effectively concluding the Trump administration's legal bid to disqualify the ballots just ahead of the midterm elections.
California election officials had strongly questioned the accuracy of the federal government's claims, stating that the list of names provided was riddled with inaccuracies. They expressed deep concern that eligible voters could be disenfranchised and argued that segregating ballots while voting was actively underway was entirely unfeasible.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
As the most populous state in America with approximately 23 million people on its voter rolls, California had already received more than six million mail-in ballots by Sunday night ahead of the voting deadline, according to the California secretary of state's office.
"never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the executive branch"
Judge
This legal battle highlights the ongoing friction between the federal executive branch and state-level election administration in the United States, particularly during high-stakes election cycles like the midterms. The intervention attempts by the Justice Department on the eve of voting brought constitutional questions regarding the limits of federal authority over local election procedures into sharp focus.
These legal challenges are part of a multi-year campaign led by Donald Trump and his administration to combat alleged voter fraud, despite extensive research indicating that such fraud is extremely rare. President Trump has frequently targeted mail-in voting as a mechanism vulnerable to unlawful participation.
Source: BBC World
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