Trump asks Supreme Court to sideline 20,000 California mail ballots

Washington — President Donald Trump's administration filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court on Monday in an effort to exclude thousands of questionable California mail ballots from being counted just before the critical midterm elections. The urgent request came after an appeals court rejected their plea to exclude around 20,000 ballots belonging to individuals the federal government suspects are not U.S. citizens.

The government maintains that these ballots must not be counted until the voters' citizenship can be confirmed. California authorities argue that the list is unreliable and likely includes many genuine U.S. citizens. The Republican Trump administration has made targeting noncitizen voters a priority this year, even though they are scarce.

A district court judge firmly rejected the Justice Department's request and cautioned that the demand could disenfranchise citizens during the November 3 midterm elections aimed at determining control of Congress. The Justice Department sought a "limited injunction" from the high court, asking California to "halt mixing suspected illegal ballots with legal ones" while the lawsuit proceeds.