In brief
The Supreme Court denied a request from the Department of Justice to block California’s counting of mail‑in ballots that could be ineligible. The DOJ had sued California over alleged noncitizen registrations. Trump and Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter had called the ballots “unlawful” and threatened officials. Federal judges had earlier struck the DOJ’s moves as unconstitutional. California governor warned of further federal pressure. The ruling came hours before polls opened, underscoring the court’s role in protecting the electoral process.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a last‑minute request by President Donald Trump’s administration to temporarily block California from counting more than 20,000 mail‑in ballots that the Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged were cast by noncitizens.
The DOJ filed an emergency petition on Sunday, asking the justices to order California election officials to verify the names on the list and withhold the ballots until citizenship status was confirmed. The request came two days after the DOJ sued California on Oct. 15, claiming that many noncitizen voters were registered in the state.
Trump shared a letter from acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter on his Truth Social platform, claiming that “knowingly facilitating” noncitizen voting is “unlawful” and threatening that California officials would face jail time.
Several federal judges had already rejected the DOJ’s demands, ruling them unconstitutional. The Los Angeles Times reported that the DOJ’s list lacked a transparent verification methodology, making it impossible for California to reject ballots based solely on unverified records.
California Governor Gavin Newsom warned that the federal government could go further, seeking search warrants to obtain ballots and other election materials, potentially disrupting the state’s vote‑counting and certification process.
The decision came just hours before polls opened for the U.S. midterm elections, underscoring the court’s role in safeguarding the electoral process and the unresolved dispute over the validity of the contested ballots.
