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The United States Supreme Court has rejected an emergency request by President Donald Trump’s administration to prevent California from counting mail-in ballots cast by more than 20,000 people whose citizenship status was questioned.
The court issued the decision on Monday, a day before the US midterm elections, dismissing the application in a brief, unsigned ruling without providing an explanation.
The government had initially accused California of having 190,000 non-citizens on its voter register but later reduced the figure to 20,000.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) subsequently filed an emergency lawsuit after early voting had started, seeking to stop the state from sending ballots to the individuals.
The Supreme Court’s decision followed earlier rejections by lower courts, which dismissed the administration’s demands last week and again on Monday.
In its emergency application, Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that allowing the disputed ballots to be mixed with valid ones would make it impossible to separate them later.
However, US District Judge David Carter last week refused to authorise the seizure of the ballots, siding with California’s Democratic-led government.
Carter described the Justice Department’s actions as part of a wider pattern of federal attempts to interfere with elections.
“The DOJ’s actions are indicative of a broad, ongoing pattern of attempted election interference by federal officials,” Carter said.
Another district judge, James Boasberg, also ruled against the administration on Monday, questioning the reliability of the lists used to identify alleged non-citizen voters.
The California dispute has added to concerns over the Trump administration’s efforts to challenge election procedures ahead of Tuesday’s vote, in which the Republican Party faces the possibility of losing control of Congress.
A similar dispute emerged in neighbouring Nevada, where the administration initially claimed to have identified 16,000 non-citizens registered to vote.
Following verification, the number fell to 185 before subsequent checks reduced it to zero.
Studies have consistently found that although voter fraud occurs in the United States, it is rare and has not significantly affected election outcomes.
In another closely watched election-related case, a federal judge in Alaska rejected a separate Justice Department request to delay certification of the state’s US Senate election results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses on Tuesday.
The DOJ had argued that a second candidate bearing the same name, Dan Sullivan, could split votes and affect the outcome of the contest.
Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola has denied recruiting the second Sullivan to enter the race.
However, The New York Times reported that members of her campaign team had been involved in the effort.
