RismadarVoice Reporters
November 3, 2026
The United States Supreme Court has rejected an emergency request by President Donald Trump’s administration to prevent California from counting mail-in ballots associated with more than 20,000 registered voters suspected by federal officials of being noncitizens.
The court issued a brief, unsigned order on Monday, November 2, without providing an explanation or recording any public dissent.
The decision came hours after the Justice Department filed its application, seeking to compel California election officials to separate the disputed ballots until the voters’ citizenship status could be verified.
Federal officials argued that the intervention was necessary to enforce laws prohibiting noncitizens from voting in federal elections.
However, California authorities challenged the reliability of the government’s list, warning that eligible American citizens could be wrongly identified and denied their voting rights.
The Supreme Court’s decision followed earlier rulings by a federal district court and the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals rejecting similar requests.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta welcomed the ruling, describing it as another legal victory for the state’s election administration.
Bonta maintained that the federal government’s allegations were insufficient to justify disrupting established voting procedures.
The dispute arose after federal agencies compiled a list of approximately 20,000 individuals whom they believed might be noncitizens registered to vote in California.
State officials questioned the methods used to compile the list and said the administration had not established that the individuals were ineligible voters.
In a related ruling on Monday, a federal judge in Washington ordered the Justice Department to stop pressuring California election officials to segregate ballots or remove suspected noncitizens from voter rolls.
The judge found that the federal government’s demands exceeded its authority over state election administration.
The controversy comes ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, which will determine control of the US Congress.
President Trump has repeatedly raised concerns about noncitizen voting, although available election research indicates that such cases are rare.
California maintains that its election procedures include safeguards to verify voter eligibility and protect ballot integrity.
The Supreme Court’s rejection means the administration has not obtained the emergency order it sought to prevent the disputed ballots from being counted.
However, the ruling did not establish the citizenship status of every individual named on the federal list or constitute a final judgment on all legal questions raised in the underlying case.
The decision leaves California’s existing election procedures in place as voters head to the polls.
