The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to review its appeal challenging California's counting of mail-in ballots from roughly 20,000 voters flagged by the Department of Justice as potentially non-U.S. citizens. This move comes after both a lower federal court and the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected the DOJ’s efforts to block these ballots from being counted ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. The DOJ’s petition was filed just one day before Election Day, underlining the urgency and high stakes of the case.

The Department of Justice initially filed the civil complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on October 15, aiming to prevent California election officials from tabulating ballots until the citizenship status of the flagged voters could be determined. The DOJ’s lawsuit was based on a list of names provided by the Department of Homeland Security, suggesting these individuals might not be eligible to vote in federal elections. However, the request to set aside the ballots was denied by Judge David Carter, who emphasized the importance of safeguarding every American citizen’s right to vote according to established state election procedures.

Judge Carter’s decision highlighted the historical nature of the federal government’s intervention, calling it unprecedented for the executive branch to attempt to override state and local election systems so close to an election. Following that ruling, the DOJ appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the lower court’s injunction allowing the ballots to be counted. The administration’s current petition to the Supreme Court seeks to overturn these decisions as Election Day approaches, maintaining the DOJ’s concerns about election integrity.

This legal battle unfolds against the backdrop of the 2026 midterm elections, which will determine control of both chambers of Congress. The case has attracted significant attention given its timing and potential impact on the electoral process in California, the nation’s most populous state. As this dispute continues, election officials and voters alike face uncertainty surrounding the counting of these contested mail-in ballots.