Supreme Court Leaves 20,000 California Ballots Standing

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request on Monday to set aside mail-in ballots from 20,000 California voters. The Trump administration argued these individuals were not citizens and asked the justices to pause counting their votes until the government could verify their status. The decision arrived the day before the midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress.

State officials argued that the government’s list contained numerous errors. They warned that removing the ballots now could strip legal voters of their right to cast a vote. California election leaders described the logistical challenge of finding and isolating the specific envelopes as impossible at this late stage in the process.

The high court did not explain its reasoning in the order. This is standard for emergency decisions. The justices have previously sided with the administration in other election-related appeals. However, they had already rejected a similar national push to restrict mail-in voting in September.

Federal Judge James Boasberg issued a separate ruling that blocked the government from imposing last-minute demands on California election workers. He wrote that the executive branch likely violated the Elections Clause of the Constitution. That clause gives states and Congress exclusive authority over election rules.

Judge Trina Thompson examined the data during a hearing. She asked Kenneth Kao, a Justice Department lawyer, if he agreed there was a high error rate in the data. Kao replied that it was a fair statement. He said the department wanted help from registrars to verify the voters. Federal prosecutor Bill Essayli initially insisted the list was not speculation. He later admitted that errors could exist.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the appeal a desperate attempt to undermine the election. He said the government was trampling the rule of law. A lower court judge, David O. Carter, warned that dismissing votes based on unproven accusations put democracy in danger. A three-judge appeals panel had earlier upheld Carter’s order by a vote of 2 to 1.

Voting in California began in early October. Mailers were sent to approximately 23 million registered voters. Election officials have already processed hundreds of thousands of these ballots. The Justice Department sought an early review by an appeals court to speed up the case, but that request also failed.