The administration of US President Donald Trump has reportedly asked the Supreme Court to halt California from counting mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 voters that authorities claim are allegedly not US citizens. The emergency request, filed on Monday just ahead of the midterm elections, marks the latest escalation in a bitter legal showdown between the federal regime and California, the most populous state and a key Democratic stronghold.

The Department of Justice wants California to set aside ballots from individuals featured on a list compiled by the Department of Homeland Security until their citizenship status is officially verified. However, state officials argue that the DHS list is fundamentally unreliable and could disenfranchise thousands of legitimate US citizens. With voting having commenced in early October, state representatives maintained that attempting to isolate the disputed ballots at this late stage would be practically impossible.

Last week, a federal judge rejected the administration's petition, expressing profound skepticism regarding the data's credibility and warning that undermining an ongoing election based on unproven allegations poses a severe threat to democracy. After a federal appeals court also dismissed the request, the regime escalated the matter to the Supreme Court as Republicans desperately fight to preserve their majority in Congress amidst widespread political friction.

Source: www.aljazeera.com