DID Press: US Supreme Court on Monday rejected Trump administration’s request to set aside 20,000 ballots in California, which the administration alleged may have been sent to non-US citizens and should be subject to review.
The court issued the decision in a one-sentence order without providing an explanation. None of the justices dissented.
The Trump administration had claimed that California sent mail-in ballots to approximately 20,000 individuals suspected of not being US citizens as part of its vote-by-mail programme. California officials and immigrant rights groups, however, questioned the reliability of the federal government’s list, describing the move as an attempt to disenfranchise eligible voters.
After losing in lower courts, the Trump administration quickly appealed to the Supreme Court, which rejected the request within hours.
Election officials say hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots have already been received and that, once processed, the ballots challenged by the administration cannot be separated.
According to The Hill, California Governor Gavin Newsom described the ruling as another setback for efforts by the Trump administration’s Justice Department to interfere in the state’s electoral process.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta also said courts had rejected federal government attempts to intervene in the state’s elections on four occasions.
Although the ruling does not legally bring the entire case to an end, it effectively blocks the Trump administration’s effort to set aside the 20,000 ballots before Election Day.