The Supreme Court on Monday denied the Justice Department's emergency request to make California hold apart mail ballots from about 20,000 voters the government flagged as "likely" noncitizens, AP and CBS News reported. The order was one line and unsigned. No justice noted a dissent. Hours later, Chief Judge James Boasberg of the federal court in Washington barred the administration's demands on California officials. He wrote that "the Executive Branch has likely violated the Constitution's Elections Clause," AP reported.
For this election, the flagged ballots are counted under state rules while any citizenship cases go forward.
The department sued Oct. 15. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter denied a restraining order on Oct. 28 and called the government's process "rife with uncertainty and errors." A Ninth Circuit panel declined to step in, 2-1, with Judge Patrick Bumatay in dissent, CBS News reported. Solicitor General D. John Sauer then went to the Supreme Court. "Once California commingles the challenged ballots with lawful ones, there is no way to get the challenged ballots back," he wrote, SCOTUSblog reported. California has about 23 million registered voters. More than 6 million mail ballots had come back.
- Federal letters went to all 58 California counties, AP reported.
- Prosecutors also asked Washington state to set aside more than 400 ballots.
- California counts mail ballots that arrive by Nov. 10, SCOTUSblog reported.
The principals are the Court, Boasberg, the Justice Department, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta and the people on the list. Naturalized citizens whose names appear on it, and every county election office in California, are affected.
Disputedwhether holding the ballots apart protects the count or burdens lawful voters.
- Department framing: "Once illegally cast ballots are counted and commingled with lawful votes, the resulting harm is impossible to remedy," the department told the courts, Fox News reported.
- Prosecutor framing: Bill Essayli, who runs the federal prosecutor's office in Los Angeles, said, "This isn't speculation. This isn't a theory," AP reported.
- State framing: Newsom posted, "Democracy won." Bonta said the courts had rejected the effort "not once, not twice, not three times, but four times."
- Civil-rights framing: NAACP general counsel Kristen Clarke called it "federal overreach and voter suppression," AP reported.
- Dissent framing: Bumatay wrote that "the federal government has a sovereign interest in safeguarding federal elections," CBS News reported.
The RecordAt a separate hearing Monday, Judge Trina Thompson asked a federal prosecutor whether the list had a high error rate. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Kao answered, "That's a fair statement," AP reported. A UCLA Voting Rights Project analysis told a court that 42 percent of the names are not on California's current voter file, CalMatters reported. Essayli later conceded the list may hold errors and said 34 people on it have been charged. Confidence that the ballots are counted under state rules: high. Confidence about how many people on the list are ineligible: low.
What to watch: Any department appeal of Boasberg's order. Thompson's preliminary-injunction hearing on Nov. 13. Challenges to individual ballots before California's Nov. 10 receipt deadline.
Sources: AP, CalMatters, CBS News, Fox News, SCOTUSblog, Washington Examiner
What we read ▾What we read ▴
- APLean Left
Supreme Court rejects Trump administration push to set aside thousands of California ballots → - CalMattersnot on the map
Supreme Court declines to hear Trump's California 20000 ballot case. Here's what to know → - CBS NewsLean Left
Supreme Court rejects Trump's effort to force California to separate mail ballots from alleged noncitizens → - Fox NewsLean Right
Supreme Court denies Trump admin request to reverse block on segregating 20K California ballots → - SCOTUSblogCenter
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to intervene in California ballots dispute → - Washington ExaminerLean Right
Judge Boasberg orders DOJ to stop demanding California officials set aside 20000 ballots →
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