US drops lawsuit over counting of 20,000 California ballots
A court had rejected the request, and the Justice Department now says the case is moot after Tuesday's midterm election.
The US Justice Department on Friday withdrew a lawsuit that sought to block the counting of 20,000 ballots in California, Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu Agency reported.
The department had asked a court to order California and Los Angeles County election officials to set the ballots aside, arguing they could belong to noncitizens.
US District Judge David Carter and a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that request, and the US Supreme Court turned down the administration's appeal without any noted dissents.
In a filing, Assistant US Attorney Julie Hamill said the ballots could no longer be separated after Tuesday's midterm election, because they would be mixed with lawful ballots before a Nov. 13 hearing.
Hamill wrote that there was no way to isolate the challenged ballots, and the motion said the relief the government sought was no longer available.
Justice Department spokesperson Kiersten Pels said the case had become moot, but added that the administration would keep pursuing alleged noncitizen voters, including in a separate case over California's voter roll maintenance.
Carter had ruled on Oct. 28 that the request was likely unconstitutional, saying states control their elections, and he called the government's allegations "not credible."
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder-County Clerk Dean Logan said he was pleased the administration had accepted the court's findings.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the administration had abandoned its latest effort to interfere with state elections and deprive eligible voters of their rights.
Election eligibility and voter roll rules have been recurring points of dispute in US politics, especially in the period leading up to midterm votes.
