Supreme Court Rejects Trump Administration Bid to Set Aside California Ballots
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, November 2, ruled against the Trump administration's attempt to force California election officials to set aside and not count ballots from people the Justice Department says are non-citizens, meaning people who are not U.S. citizens. The Guardian reported the decision.
The dispute began with a claim about the state's voter rolls. The Justice Department said about 20,000 non-citizens were on California's voter lists. In mid-October, it delivered a USB drive with names to election officials in Los Angeles and Sacramento and gave them 48 hours to review the list. It threatened to sue if California did not hold the ballots of those listed until the individuals could verify their citizenship.
The demand moved through the courts before reaching the Supreme Court. On Oct. 28, U.S. District Judge David Carter denied the administration's request to segregate California ballots, meaning keep them apart from the rest. The United States asked the district court and the Ninth Circuit, a federal appeals court, for an injunction, a court order, requiring California to segregate mail ballots cast by the disputed voters. At the Supreme Court, the application is docketed as No. 26A624.
California officials said the lawsuit could disenfranchise many eligible voters, a term meaning to deprive them of the right to vote. Local officials dispute the assertion that about 20,000 noncitizens may be registered in the state. California Attorney General Rob Bonta described the Supreme Court's decision as his fourth legal victory. Bonta's office published the statement.
The Justice Department has filed criminal charges against 28 green-card holders, people with permanent U.S. residency, in California. They are accused of fraudulently registering to vote and casting illegal ballots. The department made a similar demand to segregate ballots in Washington state over alleged non-citizen voters.
Federal officials have asserted that individuals they believe are likely non-citizens were mailed a ballot for the November 2026 election. In a filing, the Justice Department told California officials to segregate ballots of alleged non-citizens or risk prosecution.
