Supreme Court declines to halt California ballot processing before Tuesday election

The U.S. Supreme Court denied the Department of Justice’s request to intervene in California’s election administration on Monday evening, hours before Tuesday’s Election Day. The denial ends the federal government’s bid to force the state to set aside the ballots of voters it believes may be ineligible.

The Justice Department has identified 20,000 individuals on California’s voter rolls whom it considers likely noncitizens. The agency argued that these ballots should not be counted until citizenship is verified. However, lower courts have sided with California and Los Angeles County, ruling that the federal list is unreliable and that creating a new system to segregate ballots mid-process is impractical.

A divided Ninth Circuit panel rejected the DOJ’s emergency request on Friday. Judges Mark Bennett and Gabriel Sanchez warned that granting the relief carried a material risk of disenfranchisement and could jeopardize the county’s entire election. They cited the Purcell principle, which discourages changing election rules on the eve of voting, and the National Voter Registration Act, which limits the removal of ineligible voters within 90 days of a federal election. Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented.

The actual number of ballots affected is likely lower than the 20,000 cited by the Justice Department. County officials noted that many people on the federal list did not have active registrations or receive mailed ballots. Additionally, data scientists at the University of California Los Angeles’ Voting Rights Project reviewed the list over the weekend and found that 42% of the names do not appear on California’s current voter roll. Their analysis also identified naturalized citizens among those flagged.

This legal battle is part of a wider conflict between the Department of Justice and California election officials. In recent weeks, the DOJ has issued subpoenas and reminded officials of potential criminal prosecution for allowing ineligible voters to cast ballots. A federal judge in San Francisco issued a temporary restraining order late Friday, barring the administration from coercing officials to stop processing ballots. The government has appealed that order.

The Supreme Court’s decision allows California to proceed with its current procedures. Election Day is Tuesday, and the state will continue processing ballots without the federal segregation order.