The US Supreme Court has rejected an emergency request by the Trump administration to force California election officials to set aside mail-in ballots from approximately 20,000 registered voters suspected by federal authorities of being noncitizens, delivering a setback to the administration just one day before the November midterm elections.
"The application for injunction pending appeal presented to Justice Kagan and by her referred to the Court is denied," said the court on Monday.
Earlier in the day, the Trump administration appealed to the nation's highest court, asking justices to intervene in the escalating legal dispute and prevent the ballots from being counted before their eligibility was established.
The Supreme Court action came after lower courts last week — and again on Monday — rejected the demand by the Department of Justice (DOJ), with one judge calling it brazen pre-election interference.
Federal authorities had identified more than 20,000 registered California voters whom they suspected of being noncitizens.
The administration argued that election officials should temporarily separate their ballots pending verification of citizenship.
Similar cases
A controversy similar to California's arose in neighbouring Nevada. The administration said initially it had identified 16,000 non-citizen voters there, but after verification procedures that number dropped to 185 — and then to zero.
Studies repeatedly show that while cases of voter fraud exist, such incidents are extremely rare and do not influence election results.
In another closely watched election case, a federal judge in Alaska over the weekend tossed out a bid by the Trump administration to hold up US Senate election results in the state should the Democratic candidate win.
The DOJ had asked the court to block certification of the results if Republican Dan Sullivan, the incumbent, loses on Tuesday because a second candidate also named Dan Sullivan would have siphoned off votes.
Mary Peltola, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Alaska, has denied recruiting the second Sullivan into the race, but The New York Times reported that members of her campaign staff had been involved.
