DOJ Seeks Supreme Court Order Affecting 20,000 California Ballots
Federal officials argue 20,000 noncitizens appear on the voter roll, while state officials and a 9th Circuit panel say the list is flawed and too late to fix.
By Ana Castro ·
The Department of Justice filed a notice with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday seeking immediate injunctive relief in a dispute over California voter rolls.
The filing asks the high court to intervene one day before Tuesday's Election Day.
The Justice Department claims it identified 20,000 likely noncitizens on the state's voter roll.
Federal officials argue these individuals' ballots should not be counted until their citizenship status is verified.
State election officials and a divided Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel previously rejected the department's request to segregate these ballots.
The Ninth Circuit cited the Purcell principle, which advises against changing election rules on the eve of a vote.
Judges Mark Bennett and Gabriel Sanchez wrote that granting the federal request carried a material risk of disenfranchisement.
They noted that creating a new system to separate ballots while voting is underway is infeasible.
Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented from the panel's decision.
County election officials stated that the actual number of disputed ballots is likely lower than 20,000.
Many names on the federal list did not have active voter registrations or receive mailed ballots.
Data scientists at the University of California Los Angeles' Voting Rights Project analyzed the list after gaining access via a court order in a separate lawsuit over the weekend. They found that 42% of the names do not appear on California's current voter roll. The analysis also identified naturalized citizens on the list. A federal judge in San Francisco issued a temporary restraining order late Friday. This order bars the Trump administration from threatening or coercing California election officials to stop processing ballots for registered voters. The federal government has appealed that restraining order. The department recently sent subpoenas to California election officials and warned of potential criminal prosecution for allowing ineligible votes.
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