The Justice Department drops bid to stop California counting disputed ballots
The Justice Department moved Friday to dismiss its lawsuit seeking to halt California's count of roughly 20,000 ballots it alleged went to noncitizens, days after a Supreme Court setback. In its motion, the department said the ballots would be irreparably commingled with lawful ones by the hearing. California officials have said the list is outdated and includes legitimate voters.
More context
On Friday, the Justice Department sought to withdraw its case over approximately 20,000 California ballots it claimed were cast by noncitizens, following a Supreme Court loss. It argued that by the time the court convened, the ballots would have been mixed irreversibly with valid ballots, making the remedy it sought impossible. California had processed about 9 million ballots by early Friday, with nearly 5 million still to be counted, state election officials said. The hearing, scheduled for about a week later, was to include a special master’s review of the accuracy of the list used to identify the disputed ballots. State officials have characterized the list as outdated and said it wrongly includes eligible voters, a concern the presiding federal judge also cited when denying the department’s request.
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Reporting
- PBS News (with Associated Press) — Justice Department drops bid to force California to set aside disputed ballots
- NBC News — DOJ drops bid to force California to set aside ballots from alleged noncitizens
- nacionale.com — Will the 20,000 disputed California ballots be counted? The Justice Department has dropped its bid
Verifier’s note
PBS NewsHour, NBC News, and Nacionale all report that the Justice Department sought to dismiss its lawsuit over roughly 20,000 disputed California ballots. The event is reported as current, and PBS NewsHour’s article is AP copy.