The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, Nov. 2, rejected the Trump administration’s emergency request to require California to set aside mail ballots from about 20,000 voters the administration says may be noncitizens, leaving the state’s ballot procedures in place for Election Day on Nov. 3 [cbsnews.com][pbs.org][nytimes.com]. The unsigned, one-sentence order gave no explanation, and no justice publicly dissented. The court acted hours after the Justice Department filed its request [cbsnews.com][latimes.com]. The department wanted the ballots kept separate until the voters’ citizenship could be checked, arguing that they could not be recovered once mixed with other ballots. California officials disputed the federal list’s accuracy and warned that setting ballots aside could prevent eligible citizens’ votes from being counted. More than 6 million mail ballots had already been returned in the state by Sunday [cbsnews.com][npr.org][pbs.org]. The ruling followed losses for the administration in a federal district court and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Those courts cited the risk of disenfranchising eligible voters and the state’s authority over election procedures. The Supreme Court denied emergency relief without deciding the merits of the underlying case [latimes.com][npr.org][cnbc.com]. Highlights: • List reliability: Researchers reviewing the federal list found that 42% of its names did not appear on California’s current voter roll and identified entries matching naturalized citizens [npr.org][nebraskaexaminer.com]. • Election rules: The 9th Circuit majority invoked the Purcell principle against changing election rules close to voting and cited the National Voter Registration Act’s 90-day limit on systematic voter removals [npr.org]. • Worker threats: A separate federal judge barred the administration from threatening or coercing California election officials over their handling of ballots from voters it deemed ineligible [npr.org][theguardian.com]. • Other lawsuits: A federal judge separately dismissed the Justice Department’s bid to delay certification of Alaska’s Senate result if Republican Dan Sullivan lost; the department appealed [cbsnews.com][cnbc.com]. • Data method: The administration said it compiled the list using a public copy of California’s voter roll, federal records and commercial data from LexisNexis [nebraskaexaminer.com]. Perspectives: U.S. Department of Justice: The department argued that California’s refusal to investigate the people it flagged frustrated federal enforcement, and that the federal government had an interest in ensuring only citizens vote [cbs58.com][cnbc.com]. (CBS 58) California election officials: Los Angeles County Clerk Dean Logan said the Justice Department had not provided the underlying evidence, sources or methodology for its claims that voters on the list were ineligible [theguardian.com]. (The Guardian) 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dissent: The panel’s dissenting judge argued that California’s refusal to separate the ballots encouraged a violation of federal law [pbs.org]. (PBS NewsHour) "Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch." — U.S. District Judge David O. Carter Sources: • Supreme Court Rejects Trump's Demand to Set Aside California Ballots - allsides.com • Supreme Court Rejects Trump Administration Request to Intervene in California Ballot Case - nytimes.com • Supreme Court rejects Trump's request in California mail ballots dispute - cbsnews.com • Supreme Court reject's Trump administration plea to set aside over 20K California mail-in ballots allegedly from noncitizens - allsides.com • Supreme Court Slaps Down Trump on California Ballots - politicalwire.com • Supreme Court rejects Trump administration's bid to set aside 20,000 California ballots - latimes.com • Supreme Court Rejects DOJ Petition to Intervene in California’s 20,000 ‘Likely’ Noncitizen Ballot Dispute - dailysignal.com • Trump administration appeals to Supreme Court to sideline 20,000 disputed California mail ballots - pbs.org • The Supreme Court rejects a DOJ push to separate California ballots - npr.org • US Supreme Court rejects Trump, lets California count all ballots - scmp.com • US Supreme Court snubs Trump admin in California ballot case - lemonde.fr • Trump asks Supreme Court to intervene in California ballot case - cbsnews.com • Supreme Court quickly rejects Trump effort to target alleged noncitizen voters in California - reddit.com • Supreme Court rejects Trump administration request to intervene in California ballot case - columbian.com • US Supreme Court rejects Trump admin's push to set aside California ballots - business-standard.com • Supreme Court rejects Trump’s request to stop California counting disputed votes - capitalfm.africa • Supreme Court rejects Trump request for California to set aside ballots from alleged noncitizens - cbsnews.com • US Supreme Court snubs Trump admin in California ballots case - abs-cbn.com • US Supreme Court Rejects Trump's Push To Set Aside California Ballots - ndtv.com • US Supreme Court rejects Trump’s administration request to block California mail-in ballots - dailytimes.com.pk • Supreme Court rejects Trump's request to stop California counting disputed votes - bbc.co.uk • Supreme Court rejects Trump administration push to set aside thousands of California ballots - japantoday.com • US Supreme Court rejects Trump administration in California ballot fight - straitstimes.com • Supreme Court rejects Trump’s push for California to set aside thousands of disputed mail-in ballots - wkyc.com • U.S. Supreme Court rejects Trump administration push to set aside thousands of California ballots - thehindu.com • Supreme Court rejects DOJ's bid to block California from counting disputed ballots - cnbc.com • Supreme Court denies Trump administration request to set aside California ballots - Mon, 02 Nov 2026 PST - spokesman.com • Supreme Court blocks Trump administration's attempt to set aside California votes - thenews.com.pk • Supreme Court rejects Trump bid to block 20,000 California ballots - dw.com • US Supreme Court Rejects Trump's Bid To Set Aside 20,000 California Mail Ballots Over Suspected Noncitizen Voters Ahead Of Midterms Elections - freepressjournal.in • Supreme court rules against Trump over bid to force California to set aside ballots - theguardian.com • Lovitură pentru Trump în California. Curtea Supremă refuză să intervină în procesul electoral și să excludă voturi - stirileprotv.ro • Supreme Court rejects Trump bid to set aside 20,000 California ballots before election - tri-cityherald.com • US Supreme Court rejects Trump's request to set aside California ballots - geo.tv • Trump asks Supreme Court to intervene in bid to get California to set aside ballots from 20,000 alleged noncitizens - cbsnews.com • Curtea Supremă a SUA a respins solicitarea lui Donald Trump de a opri numărarea voturilor contestate în California - adevarul.ro • Trump wollte Wahl in Kalifornien stoppen, Supreme Court weist Antrag ab - diepresse.com • Supreme Court rejects Trump administration push to set aside 20,000 California ballots - foxla.com • U.S. Supreme Court rejects Trump’s efforts to sideline 20,000 California mail ballots - theglobeandmail.com • Supreme Court rejects Trump’s attempt to segregate ballots in California - cbs58.com • US Supreme Court rejects Trump DOJ’s attempt to freeze California vote counting - nebraskaexaminer.com --- 📰 Story aggregated by Kagi News