The Justice Department filed an emergency application asking the Supreme Court to mandate that California election workers set aside mail-in votes cast by about 20,000 individuals federal authorities assert are noncitizens. More than 6 million mail-in ballots have already been turned in across California out of more than 23 million registered voters.
Arguments Over Ballot Handling
Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that separating the contested ballots is essential to prevent permanent harm to the election process. "Once California commingles the challenged ballots with lawful ones, there is no way to get the challenged ballots back," Sauer told the Supreme Court.
California election administrators stated that the federal list contains errors and warned that setting the ballots aside risks disenfranchising eligible voters. The Justice Department first initiated the lawsuit on Oct. 15, naming the state and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder and County Clerk Dean Logan as defendants.
Path Through Lower Courts
U.S. District Judge David Carter previously rejected the federal government's motion for a temporary restraining order, determining that qualified voters should not lose their voting rights due to flawed and uncertain procedures.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the government's emergency request in a 2-1 vote on Friday, with Judge Patrick Bumatay dissenting.
