The U.S. Constitution says "the times, places and manner of holding elections" for senators and representatives "shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof," although Congress "may at any time by law make or alter such regulations."
uncertain
Congress → say → regulations
Yet in the run-up to Tuesday's elections, the Trump administration has unilaterally and repeatedly tried to impose its own restrictions on that constitutional power, resulting in a remarkable series of rebukes by federal courts, including four issued during the last five days.
asserted
administration → try → days
In California, the Justice Department demanded that election officials segregate mail-in ballots from 20,000 voters it describes as "likely noncitizens."
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it → demand → noncitizens
State and local officials declined to do so for several reasons.
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officials → decline → reasons
California officials questioned the reliability of the Trump administration's list, which was produced by the Department of Homeland Security based on hazy, error-prone methods.
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which → question → methods
They worried that the last-minute intervention would wreak havoc with ballot processing, deny residents mistakenly identified as noncitizens the right to vote, and violate a federal law that bars "any program the purpose of which is to systematically remove the names of ineligible voters from the official lists" within 90 days of an election.
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purpose → worry → election
In response, the Justice Department threatened to prosecute election workers for aiding and abetting violations of 18 USC 611, which makes it a misdemeanor for "any alien to vote" in a federal election.
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alien → threaten → election
On Friday, Trina L. Thompson, a federal judge in San Francisco, issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) that says the Justice Department "shall not threaten, intimidate or coerce state or local elections officials or workers" who decline to "halt processing the ballots of any registered voter solely on the basis that the ballot belongs to an individual alleged by the Defendants to be ineligible to vote."
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ballot → issue → Defendants
Thompson, a Joe Biden appointee, said her TRO is aimed at protecting "the freedom to exercise the right to vote free from threat, fear, or intimidation."
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TRO → say → threat
She noted that "ballots have already been issued," that "Americans have already begun voting," and that election workers "have already begun processing ballots."
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workers → note → ballots
Given "the consequences of inaction," she said, "the Court sees no reason to delay its ruling."
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Court → give → ruling
The Justice Department's threats "likely violated" the federal law against voter intimidation under color of law, Thompson said, and ran afoul of the Elections Clause.
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Thompson → violate → Clause
The Constitution, she noted, quoting the Supreme Court's 1972 decision in Roudebush v. Hartke, "reserves to the States the 'authority to provide a complete code for congressional elections, not only as to times and places, but in relation to notices, registration, supervision of voting, protection of voters, prevention of fraud and corrupt practices, counting of votes, duties of inspectors and canvassers, and making and publication of election returns.'
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she → note → returns
In addition to threatening recalcitrant election officials with federal prosecution, the Justice Department sought a TRO compelling them to set aside the ballots of allegedly ineligible voters.
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Department → threaten → voters
David O. Carter, a federal judge in Santa Ana, rejected that application last Wednesday, saying the Trump administration's claims about unqualified voters were "not credible," especially given its pattern of dramatically downgrading its estimates of noncitizen voting in California and other states.
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claims → reject → California
On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit declined to override Carter's decision.
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Court → decline → decision
"Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch," wrote Carter, a Bill Clinton appointee.
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Carter → seek → Branch
"This request violates longstanding constitutional principles mandating that states have control over their elections.
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states → violate → elections
If Plaintiff's last-minute request for relief were granted, either party could create chaos for their own political purposes to disrupt the election process.
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party → grant → process
Over 20,000 registered Californians would potentially lose the right that generations of Americans have fought to preserve.
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generations → register → Americans
The 9th Circuit had similar concerns.
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Circuit → have → concerns
"We decline the United States's invitation to contravene the Elections Clause by undermining the Constitution's plain text," Judge Mark J. Bennett, a Donald Trump appointee, and Gabriel P. Sanchez, a Biden appointee, said in the per curiam opinion, from which Judge Patrick J. Bumatay, a Trump nominee, dissented.
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Bumatay → decline → which
"If the United States believes different procedures are necessary for vote-by-mail ballots, we believe it should take that suggestion to Congress, not the courts."
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it → believe → Congress
The 9th Circuit added that "the potential violation" of the 90-day restriction on systematic purging of voter lists "provides an independent reason to conclude" that the Justice Department had not shown it was likely to prevail.
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it → add → reason
"The United States effectively seeks to cancel (or potentially cancel) 'batches of registered voters based on a set procedure [which] is systematic as opposed to individualized,'" the appeals court said.
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court → seek → procedure
The 9th Circuit also cited the Supreme Court's 2006 ruling in Purcell v. Gonzalez, which cautioned that judicial intervention close to an election can cause "voter confusion and consequent incentive to remain away from the polls."
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intervention → cite → polls
Purcell "counsels that we should not intervene at this late hour," the appeals court said.
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court → counsel → hour
"The Purcell principle reflects the wisdom that we must not 'alter the election rules on the eve of an election,'" and it "'applies with even greater force' when, as here, an election is already underway."
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election → reflect → force
California officials, "pursuant to their constitutional authority, established rules and
procedures to challenge a voter's ineligibility in the months directly preceding an
election," the 9th Circuit noted.
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Circuit → establish → election
"As the district court found—and we discern no clear error—there is no feasible way to identify and segregate the ballots of specific individuals without potentially catastrophic effects on the entire system."
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we → find → system
On Sunday, a federal judge in Alaska likewise cited Purcell in dismissing a Justice Department lawsuit that aimed to address potential voter confusion in that state's U.S. Senate race.
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that → cite → race
But the ranked-choice ballot also includes a freshly registered Republican, Daniel P. Sullivan, who was recruited by Peltola's campaign in the hope of drawing votes from the senator.
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who → rank → senator
After Alaska's courts rejected efforts to bar Daniel P. Sullivan from the ballot, the Justice Department sought a court order that would apply only if the senator loses the election and his similarly named opponent receives enough votes to account for that outcome.
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opponent → reject → outcome
If that happens, the Trump administration said, Alaska should not certify the results until "an investigation" can "determine whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant to be cast for Senator Sullivan."
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votes → happen → Sullivan
Since voters' choices are secret, it was not clear how such an investigation could possibly be conducted.
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investigation → conduct → ?
"Requiring the segregation of ballots cast by voters for Daniel J. Sullivan so that these voters can be further investigated by law enforcement is not a remedy that this Court can or should order as it clearly violate Alaskans' right to a secret ballot," Sharon L. Gleason, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, wrote in her decision on Sunday.
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Gleason → require → Sunday
"The relief requested here by the United States is 'infeasible.'"
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relief → request → States
Gleason, a Barack Obama appointee, added that Purcell "strongly cautions the Court against granting the relief the United States seeks."
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States → add → relief
The Supreme Court, she noted, "has repeatedly emphasized that lower federal courts should ordinarily not alter the election rules on the eve of an election.
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courts → note → election
The Trump administration argued that it was "not seeking to alter the time, place, or manner of Alaska's election," Gleason wrote.
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Gleason → argue → election
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
