The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to set aside about 20,000 California ballots over concerns that they may have been issued to noncitizens. (Foto: Instagram)
President Donald Trump’s administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to suspend about 20,000 votes in California ahead of the midterm elections. The Justice Department argues that the ballots may have been issued to people who are not U.S. citizens.
The administration is asking state officials to set aside those ballots and take steps to verify the voters’ citizenship before counting them. The request is not the first of its kind from the Trump administration and has been described as baseless by local media.
The midterm elections, scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 3, will determine the next members of Congress. All House seats and one-third of the Senate seats are up for election. Polls suggest Democrats could make gains while Republicans lose ground.
On Friday, Oct. 31, a U.S. appeals court barred the federal government from intervening in California’s vote count. The court said that if the United States believes different procedures are needed for mail-in ballots, the proposal should go to Congress rather than the courts.
Unlike Brazil, the United States does not have a single national body, such as Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court, that organizes elections. Each state is responsible for conducting its own elections.
