Justice Department drops lawsuit seeking to set aside California mail ballots
A Friday filing ends the case after courts declined emergency relief. California continues counting ballots from Tuesday’s election.
The U.S. Justice Department voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit seeking to make California separate certain mail ballots from the rest of its election count, according to a notice filed Friday in federal court. The dispute concerned a federal list of about 20,000 registered voters the government alleged were likely noncitizens. [1, 2]
The Supreme Court had denied the government’s request for emergency relief on Nov. 2, the day before the election. The dismissal ends this case as California election officials continue processing ballots. [1]
Why the government withdrew
In its dismissal notice, federal lawyers said the court had scheduled a preliminary-injunction hearing for Nov. 13, after Election Day. They argued that by then, the challenged ballots would have been mixed with other ballots and could no longer be separated. The filing said that made the case moot. [1]
California Attorney General Rob Bonta disputed the reliability of the federal list and said the request threatened eligible voters. He said the hearing would have examined the list’s accuracy. The Justice Department continued to defend its allegations when announcing the withdrawal, the AP reported. [2, 3]
Counting continues after Election Day
Eligible California mail ballots must have been postmarked by Nov. 3 and reach county election offices by Nov. 10. Counties also process provisional ballots and resolve issues such as missing or mismatched signatures during the canvass. [4]
The secretary of state’s schedule gives counties until Dec. 3 to complete final official results, followed by statewide certification on Dec. 11. Preliminary vote totals can change as those steps are completed. [4]