The US Supreme Court has denied a final appeal from the Trump administration seeking to stop the counting of disputed votes in California ahead of the midterm elections. In a one-line order issued on Monday, the Court rejected the Justice Department's request for an injunction, allowing lower court rulings to stand and concluding the federal government's attempt to set aside specific ballots.
The Justice Department had argued that approximately 20,000 registered voters in California were likely non-citizens and demanded their ballots be segregated. This claim was supported by a 22-page brief asserting that votes cast by non-citizens could dilute valid votes. The administration escalated the matter last month by sending letters to state officials and deploying armed Department of Homeland Security personnel to threaten criminal charges if the ballots were not sequestered.
However, two lower courts had already dismissed the request before it reached the Supreme Court. California election officials challenged the federal government's claims, stating that the list of alleged non-citizens provided by the administration was riddled with inaccuracies. Officials also warned that segregating ballots during an active voting period was unfeasible and risked disenfranchising eligible voters.
The decision arrives on the eve of midterms that will determine congressional control for the remainder of President Donald Trump's second term. California, the nation's most populous state with 23 million registered voters, had already received over six million mail-in ballots by Sunday night. District Judge David Carter previously criticized the administration's actions in a scathing ruling, describing them as an unprecedented attempt to coerce state and local governments into abandoning constitutional election procedures.
These legal maneuvers are part of a broader campaign by the Trump administration against alleged widespread voter fraud, despite research indicating such incidents are extremely rare. President Trump has frequently claimed that Democrats facilitate illegal voting by immigrants, particularly through mail-in ballots permitted in many Democratic-leaning states.
Sources: BBC News World.