WASHINGTON (The Thursday Times) — The US Supreme Court has rejected a last-minute request from the Trump administration to intervene in California’s vote count, on the eve of the midterm elections, ending its effort to have thousands of ballots set aside.
The court announced its decision on Monday in a one-line order. “The application for injunction pending appeal presented to Justice Kagan and by her referred to the Court is denied,” it said. The rulings of two lower courts, which had already refused the request, now stand.
The Justice Department wanted ballots set aside for 20,000 registered voters it said were likely not US citizens. In a 22-page brief, it argued that ballots cast by non-citizens could “debase or dilute valid votes”.
California election officials said the government’s list was riddled with inaccuracies, that eligible voters could lose their votes, and that separating ballots while voting was under way could not be done. Federal Judge David Carter, who rejected the request last week, wrote: “If the executive can discount votes and threaten an ongoing election due to unproven allegations, then our democracy is in danger.”
The dispute drew attention when armed Department of Homeland Security officers delivered letters to county officials across California, threatening criminal charges if they did not set the ballots aside.
California is the most populous US state, with about 23 million people on its voter register. More than six million mail-in ballots had been received by Sunday night, the secretary of state’s office said.
