The Justice Department is asking the Supreme Court to step into its fight with California over the state’s voter rolls, one day before Election Day.
DOJ filed a notice Monday that it plans to appeal to the high court after a federal district judge and a divided 9th Circuit panel both rejected its request to make California set aside and stop processing thousands of ballots, reported NPR.
The department claims it has identified 20,000 “likely” noncitizens on California’s voter rolls, and it wants their ballots held back until their citizenship can be verified.
So far, the courts have agreed with California and Los Angeles County that the federal list is unreliable. They also found that building a new system to separate ballots while voting is underway isn’t feasible.
“[T]here is a material risk that granting the United States its requested relief would result in disenfranchisement and could jeopardize the County’s entire election,” wrote 9th Circuit Judges Mark J. Bennett, a Trump appointee, and Gabriel P. Sanchez, a Biden appointee, in their Friday ruling.
The judges cited the Purcell principle, a long-standing legal precedent that courts shouldn’t change election rules on the eve of a vote. They also cited the National Voter Registration Act, which bars systematic removal of voters within 90 days of a federal election. Judge Patrick J. Bumatay, also a Trump appointee, dissented.
The real number of disputed ballots is likely far smaller than 20,000. County officials found that many people on DOJ’s list had no active registration and were never mailed a ballot.
It’s not clear whether the Supreme Court will take up the case, or whether it would act before Tuesday if it does.
The appeal follows other escalations. DOJ officials have warned local election workers they could face criminal prosecution if they don’t cooperate. Last week, the department sent grand jury subpoenas to employees at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s office.
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