Justice Kagan Denies the Trump Administration's Bid to Set Aside 20,000 California Ballots, and a D.C. Judge Separately Blocks Federal Ballot Requests
The denial came without comment on the eve of the midterms. Hours later, Chief Judge James Boasberg said it was 'likely' the administration violated the Constitution by taking over election duties from the states. California disputes the federal list.
The Supreme Court turned down the Trump administration's emergency request over more than 20,000 California mail-in ballots on Monday, the day before Election Day, Fox News reports.
The ruling. Justice Elena Kagan denied the appeal without comment and did not refer it to the other justices. The administration had asked the court to pause lower-court rulings that refused to let it set aside the ballots, which it says were cast by people who are likely not U.S. citizens. It argued the limited order would preserve the ballots while their eligibility is checked, without canceling any votes. In its filing, the Justice Department wrote: "Once illegally cast ballots are counted and commingled with lawful votes, the resulting harm is impossible to remedy."
How it got here. A federal judge in Los Angeles rejected the request last week. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected it Friday, with Judge Patrick Bumatay dissenting. The case comes from an Oct. 15 DOJ lawsuit saying California is blocking enforcement of the federal ban on noncitizen voting in federal elections. The administration says that violates the Supremacy Clause. We covered the filing at the Supreme Court in an earlier piece.
California's position. The state says its safeguards against noncitizen voting are strong and argues the federal list may contain errors that could disenfranchise eligible voters. The lower courts pointed to the state's authority over election procedures and warned that granting the request could jeopardize the election.
A second ruling. Monday evening, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., said it was "likely" the administration violated the Constitution by taking over responsibilities for elections from the states and Congress. Chief Judge James Boasberg issued an injunction blocking the administration from making requests of California over its mail-in ballots.
What is at stake. California has 52 House seats. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to take control of the chamber, per Fox.
What we could not check. Whether the 20,000 figure is accurate is the disputed point. Fox reports that the administration and California disagree, and we have not seen the list or the court filings. The report does not say whether the administration will appeal Boasberg's injunction.