DOJ moves to dismiss its lawsuit demanding California set aside ballots – Spectrum News

DOJ moves to dismiss its lawsuit demanding California set aside ballots  Spectrum News

The request to dismiss the case comes days after Republicans' significant losses in the midterm elections. LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday moved to dismiss its own lawsuit that sought to stop California from counting roughly 20,000 ballots it alleged went to noncitizens until their immigration status could be verified. The request to dismiss the case comes days after Republicans' significant losses in the midterm elections and about a week before a scheduled hearing where a special master was slated to evaluate the accuracy of the list. California officials have previously said the list is out of date and includes legitimate voters — a sentiment that the federal judge presiding over the case echoed in his blistering order denying the federal government's request.

The case was at the forefront of President Donald Trump's administration's effort to assert control over state-run elections across the country, which Trump has said are rife with illegal voting without providing evidence. The state had processed roughly 9 million ballots as of early Friday, with nearly 5 million still left to be counted, according to state election officials. The motion to dismiss the lawsuit said that, by the time of the hearing, the state will have already irreparably "commingled the challenged ballots with lawful ones." “The relief the United States sought and