Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Set Aside 20,000 California Ballots

The Supreme Court on November 2 declined the Trump administration's emergency request to force California to segregate ballots cast by about 20,000 registered voters the federal government alleges may not be U.S. citizens. No justices publicly dissented.

The order leaves California's existing ballot procedures in place on the eve of the midterms, which will decide control of Congress. Emergency applications to the court are decided without full briefing or oral argument, and the justices gave no reasons for the denial.

The administration had argued that segregating the ballots was necessary to preserve the ability to exclude them if the voters were later found ineligible. California officials countered that the state's voter rolls and verification procedures already address eligibility, and that singling out the ballots would sow confusion on Election Day.

The case was one of several election-law fights to reach the courts in the final days before voting, as both parties tested the rules governing mail ballots, voter rolls and counting procedures. Courts have largely left state procedures in place this close to an election, citing the risk of last-minute disruption.

With the order denied, California's ballots will be processed under the state's normal rules. The underlying dispute over voter eligibility could still be litigated after the election, but it will not change how Tuesday's votes are counted.