Justice Department seeks Supreme Court order to pause California ballot processing
The federal government is asking the high court to halt the counting of 20,000 ballots on the eve of Election Day after lower courts rejected its emergency request.
By Rafael Collins ·
The Department of Justice filed a notice Monday seeking injunctive relief from the U.S. Supreme Court to stop California from processing ballots for 20,000 individuals the federal government identifies as likely noncitizens. The filing arrives one day before Election Day, marking the latest escalation in a dispute over voter rolls that has already reached two lower courts.
The Justice Department argues that the state should set aside these ballots until citizenship is verified. A divided panel from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected this emergency request on Friday. Judges Mark Bennett and Gabriel Sanchez warned that altering election rules on the eve of the vote creates a material risk of disenfranchisement and could jeopardize the entire election in Los Angeles County.
The two judges cited the Purcell principle, a legal standard that advises against changing election rules shortly before an election. They also referenced the Constitution, which grants states authority to administer elections, and the National Voter Registration Act. That federal law prevents states from systematically removing ineligible voters within 90 days of a federal election. Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented from the decision.
Lower courts have previously sided with California and Los Angeles County, which argued that the federal list is unreliable. Creating a new system to segregate ballots while voting is already underway is, according to state officials, infeasible. The actual number of ballots in dispute is likely lower than the 20,000 figure cited by the Justice Department, as many names on the federal list did not have active registrations or receive mailed ballots.
Data scientists at the University of California Los Angeles' Voting Rights Project analyzed the federal list over the weekend. They found that 42% of the names do not appear on California's current voter roll. Their analysis also identified naturalized citizens on the list.
The legal conflict has intensified in recent weeks. The Justice Department has issued subpoenas to California election officials and reminded them of potential criminal prosecution for allowing ineligible voters to cast ballots. In response, a federal judge in San Francisco issued a temporary restraining order late Friday. That order bars the administration from threatening or coercing state officials to stop processing ballots for registered voters. The federal government has appealed that ruling.
The dispute follows a federal judge's description of the Justice Department's actions as a broad pattern of attempted election interference. The Supreme Court has not yet indicated whether it will take up the case or issue a decision before Tuesday's vote.
