Supreme Court Rejects Trump Bid on 20K California Ballots
The Facts
- The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected the Trump administration's bid to have California set aside 20,000 mail ballots the government said went to likely noncitizens. The order carried no explanation, noted no dissents and came without a state response.
- The decision came on the eve of midterm elections, when more than 50 million Americans had already cast early ballots. President Donald Trump has urged states to remove noncitizens he says are registered and voting in U.S. elections.
- The Justice Department handed Los Angeles and Sacramento election officials a USB drive with the names in mid-October, giving them 48 hours to review it. Los Angeles County said only 7,035 of the names listed addresses within the county.
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The Spin
Democratic narrative
Setting aside tens of thousands of legally cast ballots from the count based on an unproven suspicion undermines voters' rights rather than protecting election integrity. The Constitution gives states the authority to administer elections for good reason. A last-minute federal attempt to override that authority was rightly rejected. Every voter who followed the law deserves to have their vote counted.
Republican narrative
Verifying citizenship on voter rolls is a basic safeguard for maintaining public confidence in elections. Temporarily setting aside a small number of questionable ballots for prompt verification does not automatically disenfranchise anyone. Refusing even a limited set-aside only raises more questions. Serious concerns about election integrity deserve clear answers, not dismissive silence.
