Justice Department asks Supreme Court to block counting of 20,000 California ballots as courts rule against administration

The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to order California to set aside ballots cast by 20,000 people the federal government suspects are not citizens, according to a report published jointly by the Missouri Independent, Tennessee Lookout, Kansas Reflector and NC Newsline. The request came on the eve of Tuesday's midterm elections, after a string of court rulings went against the Trump administration.

The list of suspected noncitizens was assembled by the Department of Homeland Security using government records and the research service LexisNexis, the outlets reported. A federal district judge and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals have both rejected the department's bid to keep those ballots from being counted. Another judge ordered the list shared with an immigrant rights group, which said Saturday that it had found significant problems with its accuracy.

In a separate case, U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson of the Northern District of California issued a temporary restraining order late Friday barring the administration from threatening election workers across the country with prosecution, the outlets reported. The order followed comments by Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, suggesting state election officials could face criminal liability if they counted noncitizens' ballots. Thompson wrote that officials following state and federal law "do not violate federal criminal law even if a particular ballot belongs" to an ineligible voter.

The Justice Department has appealed that order. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter responded on X: "Reminding election officials to follow federal law is a civic service, not a 'threat.'"

Other rulings in recent days included the dismissal in Alaska of a lawsuit that sought to challenge in advance the certification of the state's U.S. Senate results, and an appeals court decision upholding limits on Homeland Security field operations before the election, according to the report. Judges were scheduled Monday to consider requests to bar federal law enforcement agents from acting as election monitors and to further limit armed federal personnel at polling places.

President Donald Trump and his supporters say the federal actions are needed to prevent noncitizen voting. The administration notes that dozens of states, including California, have declined to share full voter rolls containing sensitive personal data. The outlets reported that researchers have consistently found noncitizen voting to be rare, while Homeland Security has arrested dozens of noncitizens on alleged election crimes in recent weeks.

The push follows the Senate's failure to advance the SAVE America Act, which would have required proof of citizenship to vote. Democrats and voting rights groups, including Common Cause, have organized volunteers and lawyers to monitor polling sites. Forecasters have said Democrats are positioned to win the House and possibly the Senate, the outlets reported.

Compiled by True News from reporting by Missouri Independent, Tennessee Lookout, Kansas Reflector and NC Newsline. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/724