WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court won’t force California to segregate any midterm ballots cast by 20,000 registered voters the Trump administration alleges may not be citizens, rejecting a rare attempt by a president to get involved in the administration of elections.
The court on Nov. 2 declined the Justice Department’s emergency request − filed on the eve of the Nov. 3 election − to prevent those ballots from being counted while the administration challenges their validity. The midterms will decide which party will control Congress.
None of the justices publicly dissented.
President Donald Trump has tried to boostthe federal government’s role in elections and has alleged without evidence that noncitizens are influencing outcomes by illegally voting.
California said it already has safeguards to protect election integrity and the process the administration used to create its list of questionable voters is "highly suspect.”
The Constitution gives states and Congress, but not the executive branch, responsibility for regulating federal elections.
The administration argues California is impeding the federal government's ability to enforce a law that makes it a crime for noncitizens to vote in federal contests.
But a judge on Oct. 28 rejected the Justice Department’s attempt to keep the ballots from being counted until the voters have been verified as citizens.
"Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional election procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch," wrote U.S. District Judge David Carter.
Carter also said the administration failed to provide sufficient evidence that it used a “credible” process for creating its list.
The Justice Department said the government hadn’t had a full opportunity to prove its list is valid and the ballots should be set aside in the meantime.
But an appeals court said in a 2-1 decision that forcing California to use the list could bar valid votes from being cast and jeopardize the Los Angeles County election.
“As the district court found – and we discern no clear error – there is no feasible way to identify and segregate the ballots of specific individuals without potentially catastrophic effects on the entire system,” that court said in a 2-1 decision.
In dissent, Circuit Judge Patrick Bumatay called the government’s request reasonable.
“This solution would not cancel any vote but would allow time to verify the eligibility of suspected noncitizens,” he wrote.
The Justice Department sued California in October, claiming the state is preventing enforcement of a law that makes it a criminal offense for noncitizens to vote in federal elections.
The administration has warned election officials in all states they could be prosecuted if they knowingly allow noncitizens to vote.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Supreme Court rejects Trump attempt to set aside some CA ballots
