Supreme Court Turns Away DOJ Bid to Set Aside California Mail Ballots

What happened

On Monday the Supreme Court denied the Justice Department's emergency application for an injunction pending appeal in United States v. California, No. 26A624 ^[1]. The request sought to make California set aside mail ballots from people on a government list of alleged noncitizens ^[2][3]. Justice Elena Kagan referred the application to the full Court, which denied it the same day it was docketed ^[1][3].

The filing followed a divided federal appeals court's refusal to order the ballots segregated ^[2]. Last week U.S. District Judge David Carter turned down a temporary restraining order and said the administration's identification process was "rife with uncertainty and errors" ^[2]. Solicitor General D. John Sauer warned that once challenged ballots are mixed with lawful ones, "there is no way to get the challenged ballots back" ^[3].

How it affects Americans

Voting in California has been underway since early October, and the fight landed on the eve of Tuesday's midterms ^[2]. Our read: no federal court order now requires California to hold the challenged ballots apart. The Court's order denied the application for an injunction pending appeal ^[1].

The Veil Press view

Our read: the integrity of the voter rolls is a fair question, but every court that looked at this list before Election Day declined to act on it ^[1][2][3]. A government that wants ballots pulled aside should show its list is accurate first, and that case has not yet been made in court ^[2].

What we know

Confirmed

• Application 26A624, United States v. California, was docketed Nov. 2, 2026, from Ninth Circuit case 26-7231 ^[1].
• The application for an injunction pending appeal, presented to Justice Kagan and referred to the Court, was denied ^[1].
• D. John Sauer is counsel of record for the United States ^[1].

Still being reported

• Both outlets describe the order as unsigned with no noted dissents ^[2][3].
• CBS puts the disputed pool at 20,000 alleged noncitizens, while SCOTUSblog says the government contends there are more than 20,000 ^[2][3].
• More than 6 million mail ballots have been returned to election offices across California ^[2].
• Carter's "rife with uncertainty and errors" finding comes from the district court record as reported ^[2].