Supreme Court Asked to Hold 20,000 Ballots

The Trump administration filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday. The request asks the high court to pause the counting of approximately 20,000 mail ballots in California. This action occurs one day before the midterm elections. The federal government wants these specific ballots set aside until voter status is verified.

The appeal follows a divided decision from a lower appeals court. That court rejected the government's initial bid to exclude the ballots. The Justice Department argues that the state cannot count the votes for people it suspects may not be U.S. citizens. California officials counter that the federal list is unreliable. They state it likely contains many valid U.S. citizens.

The federal team has focused heavily on identifying noncitizen voters this year. A district court judge previously denied the Justice Department's request. He warned that removing the ballots could disenfranchise citizens in the upcoming vote. The judge noted that the move could disrupt the process for determining control of Congress.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote the filing for the Supreme Court. He requested a limited injunction to direct California to separate the disputed ballots. Sauer argued that once the state mixes the challenged ballots with lawful ones, they cannot be retrieved. The Justice Department wants this decision before the votes are finalized.

Voting in California began in early October. The state mails ballots to all roughly 23 million registered voters. Election officials have already processed hundreds of thousands of ballots. State leaders say it is now logistically impossible to find and separate the specific disputed envelopes. They argue that doing so would cause major operational issues.

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter wrote the original ruling against the federal government. Carter, nominated by President Bill Clinton, said that allowing the executive branch to discount votes based on unproven allegations puts democracy in danger. He warned that segregating ballots would wreak havoc on the election process.

A two to one appeals court panel upheld Carter's order. The majority included one judge appointed by Trump and one by President Joe Biden. The dissenting judge, also appointed by Trump, argued that California's refusal to separate the ballots encourages the violation of federal law. The Supreme Court now holds the final say on this emergency request.