In brief
With November 3 midterms looming, the Justice Department has sued to remove ballots linked to alleged non‑citizens in California and sought to block certification of the Alaska Senate race over candidate name confusion. Federal judges have rejected these emergency requests, and a Supreme Court ruling keeps new postal ballot‑delivery rules from taking effect. The legal battles highlight partisan tensions over election integrity.
As the November 3 midterm elections approach, federal courts are seeing an uptick in lawsuits aimed at qualifying ballots and contesting race certification, with the Justice Department focusing on California and Alaska.
"state-facilitated voter fraud,"said U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche in a letter to federal judges, arguing that about 20,000 California residents suspected of being noncitizens were caught voting. The lawsuit followed an effort by the department to compel California election officials to verify citizenship and set aside ballots, a request that a federal judge rejected on the grounds that it could "wreak havoc" on an election already underway.
"wreak havoc,"warned the judge, noting the risk of disenfranchising eligible voters. The Ninth Circuit also denied emergency requests in related proceedings, citing concerns over voter suppression. Meanwhile, the Justice Department has sought to block the certification of Alaska’s Senate race, citing confusion between two candidates with similar names; the department’s stance remains disputed, yet the U.S. government’s request was formally filed. In addition, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and California Governor Gavin Newsom have weighed in, with Newsom accusing the department of weaponizing fraud allegations, while Clinton’s letter to federal judges urges a return to election integrity. A separate legal dispute saw the Supreme Court reject a federal request to lift an injunction that would have imposed stricter mail‑ballot delivery rules ahead of the election, keeping those rules from taking effect on Election Day.
