Trump administration ends California balloting lawsuit

Nov 6 (Reuters) – The Trump administration on Friday withdrew its lawsuit that attempted to block California from counting mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters whom federal officials alleged were likely non-US citizens.

• The Justice Department filed a notice of voluntary dismissal in the case after the midterm elections that saw Democrats win by comfortable margins in all of California’s statewide contests and most of its congressional races

• On Monday, the day before the election, the Supreme Court rejected a bid to temporarily block California from counting the ballots on the Justice Department’s list

• The Justice Department had argued in previous filings that it needed quick action from federal courts because the contested ballots could not be separated from all other votes once they were accepted. The department again pointed to that reasoning in Friday’s notice of dismissal, writing that “the relief the United States sought is no longer available” now that votes have been tallied

• US District Judge David Carter had appeared skeptical of the Justice Department’s lawsuit, expressing concerns that the request could disenfranchise and confuse legitimate voters, calling it a “monumental change” to election procedures when voting was already underway

(Reporting by Christian Martinez; Editing by Sergio Non and Saad Sayeed)

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