Justice & LawBrief
DOJ seeks to dismiss California ballot-separation lawsuit, CBS/AP reports
The reported request follows a November 2 Supreme Court order denying an application for an injunction while an appeal was pending in the dispute.
The numbers
- Mailed-ballot recipients DOJ alleged were noncitizens, whose ballots it reportedly sought to separate
- approximately 20,000 people in reported DOJ allegation
The U.S. Justice Department moved on November 6 to voluntarily dismiss its California ballot-separation lawsuit, CBS News and The Associated Press reported.
The department had sought to have California set aside mail ballots sent to roughly 20,000 people it alleged were noncitizens, according to the report. The requested separation was intended to allow immigration status to be checked before the ballots were counted.
CBS/AP reported that the department argued in its dismissal request that the relief it sought would no longer be available by a scheduled hearing because the challenged ballots would have been mixed with other ballots.
Earlier, the Supreme Court’s November 2 order denied an application for an injunction pending appeal in United States v. California. The application was presented to Justice Elena Kagan, who referred it to the Court; the order identifies the case as number 26A624. The order addressed the request for interim relief during the appeal and gave no reasons for the denial.
What we don't know yet
- What does the exact current dismissal filing say about the request and its terms?
- What is the current docketed disposition of the dismissal request?
- What further action, if any, will occur in the litigation?
Timeline
The Supreme Court denied an application for an injunction pending appeal.
DOJ moved to seek voluntary dismissal, CBS/AP reported.