Supreme Court declines to block California ballot counts before Tuesday vote

The U.S. Supreme Court denied a final request from the Department of Justice to pause the counting of votes in California. The court made the decision on Monday evening, hours before Tuesday’s Election Day. This ruling allows Los Angeles County to continue processing ballots for thousands of voters whom federal officials believe are likely noncitizens.

The Justice Department identified 20,000 names on the state’s voter roll that it says likely belong to people who are not citizens. The federal government argued that these ballots should be held until citizenship could be verified. Los Angeles County officials rejected this list, stating that the data was unreliable and that separating ballots while voting was already underway was too difficult to achieve accurately.

Federal Judge David Carter, a Clinton appointee, previously rejected the Justice Department's request. He described the federal action as a broad, ongoing pattern of attempted election interference. A divided panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals also denied emergency relief on Friday. Judges Mark Bennett and Gabriel Sanchez warned that changing rules on the eve of an election risked disenfranchising voters. They cited the Purcell principle, which generally discourages legal changes close to an election date.

Judge Patrick Bumatay, the panel’s third member, dissented from that decision. The 9th Circuit opinion also noted that the Constitution grants states authority to run elections. It pointed to the National Voter Registration Act, which prevents states from systematically removing ineligible voters within 90 days of a federal election.

The actual number of disputed ballots is likely lower than the 20,000 figure cited by the Justice Department. County officials found that many people on the federal list did not have active registrations or receive mail ballots. Data scientists at UCLA’s Voting Rights Project analyzed the list after a court order granted them access. They found that 42% of the names on the federal list did not appear on California’s current voter roll. Their analysis also identified naturalized citizens on the list.

The Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene marks the latest step in a tense conflict between federal and state election officials. In recent weeks, the Justice Department sent subpoenas to California officials and reminded them of potential criminal prosecution for allowing ineligible votes. A federal judge in San Francisco issued a temporary restraining order late Friday. That order barred the administration from threatening or coercing local officials to stop processing ballots. The federal government has appealed that order.