As many as 20,000 California ballots could go uncounted in the 3 November midterm elections after the Trump administration asked a federal court to freeze them until the voters behind them prove they are United States citizens. The request landed with ballots already in the post and barely three weeks to go, turning a long-running dispute over the state's voter rolls into a court fight.
The Justice Department filed the lawsuit on Thursday in federal court in Los Angeles, naming California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder and County Clerk Dean Logan as defendants. It does not seek to strike the voters off. It asks a judge to set aside the ballots returned by the flagged voters and halt signature checks and tabulation until each person's citizenship is confirmed.
