Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Segregate 20,000 California Ballots Ahead of Midterms
The Trump administration filed an emergency application with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, requesting that California be ordered to set aside more than 20,000 mail-in ballots. The administration argues the ballots may have been sent to noncitizens, bringing the high-stakes legal dispute to the justices just one day before the midterm elections.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer urged the high court to intervene, arguing that once challenged ballots are commingled with lawful ones during processing, they cannot be retrieved. Segregating the ballots now, according to the filing, would not discard any votes but would instead preserve the judiciary's ability to review voter eligibility.
The emergency appeal follows a series of rejections from lower federal courts, including a divided Ninth Circuit panel and U.S. District Judge David O. Carter. Lower court judges previously criticized the Justice Department's late-stage intervention as improper pre-election interference and noted that the U.S. Constitution leaves election administration primarily to the states.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta strongly condemned the latest legal maneuver, calling it a desperate attempt to undermine state election rules. State officials have maintained that the administration's list contains significant errors, noting that some individuals identified have Los Angeles County addresses and are confirmed U.S. citizens.
The emergency application was directed to Justice Elena Kagan, who handles emergency matters originating from California. The case places the Supreme Court in the position of evaluating federal authority over state voting procedures on the eve of Election Day.
