Supreme Court denies Trump administration's emergency request to set aside California ballots from alleged noncitizen registrants

The Supreme Court on Nov. 2 denied an emergency request from the Trump administration. The administration wanted California to set aside ballots from registrants it says are likely noncitizens, according to CNN, The Hill, CBS News, NBC News and Axios. The order was one sentence long, gave no explanation and noted no dissents, The Hill reported. It came the day before Election Day.

CNN reported that the Court acted within hours of the filing. CBS News reported that the Court did not ask California officials to respond first.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the Court the U.S. had identified more than 20,000 California registrants it views as likely noncitizens, CNN reported. Axios said the administration sued California in mid-October. CNN reported that the 9th Circuit ruled 2-1 against the administration on Friday, with Judge Bumatay dissenting.

California officials dispute the administration's claim, NBC News reported. CNN reported that California and voting-rights groups say the federal claims risk disenfranchising citizens. Axios reported that judges have found factual errors in the administration's lists. CBS News reported that Judge David Carter called the administration's identification process "rife with uncertainty and errors." The Hill reported that California Attorney General Rob Bonta said courts have rejected the administration's attempts four times.

Timing is central to the dispute, according to the reports. CBS News reported that more than 6 million mail ballots had already been returned to California election offices; we could not confirm that figure in another source. The Hill reported that all sides agree ballots cannot be separated once they have been processed. NBC News reported that identifying voter details are discarded after signature verification, so ballots cannot be identified afterward. The Hill said the ruling appears to be the final word before Election Day, though the lawsuit technically continues.

NBC News also reported that a federal judge on Saturday told the Justice Department to stop threatening California election officials with prosecution. CBS News characterized confirmed instances of noncitizen voting as rare. It reported that the Justice Department has brought charges against more than 200 people whom prosecutors allege voted illegally in the past. Axios reported that the Court has often sided with President Trump but has broken with him in voting-access cases.

This briefing does not report any election results. Results should be taken from the Associated Press or official election offices. Readers with questions about voting rules should check their state's official election office.

What we don't know yet

• How many of the roughly 20,000 registrants returned ballots. CNN said an unknown number are likely already counted.
• How many ballots in total have been returned. CBS News reported more than 6 million; we could not confirm that elsewhere.
• Whether the administration's list is accurate. The administration says it identified more than 20,000 likely noncitizens. California officials dispute the list, and Axios reported that judges have found factual errors in it. These are competing claims, not established facts.
• What happens next in the underlying lawsuit, which The Hill said technically continues.
• The Court's reasoning and the exact wording of the order. The order gave no explanation, and we did not find the order itself in the sources, so we rely on news reports of it.