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Tuesday, November 3, 2026

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Elections · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Supreme Court denies order to separate California mail ballots

The File desk · Nov. 3, 2026, 6:33 a.m. ET

Confirmed4 primary sources

Status

Confirmed. On Monday, November 2, 2026, the Supreme Court denied the United States' application for an injunction pending appeal in No. , . The one-page order notes no dissents. The application says the United States identified more than 20,000 people registered in California who, in its view, are likely not citizens, and it asked that their mail ballots be segregated rather than canceled.
  • Confirmed
    The order says the application presented to Justice Kagan and referred to the Court is denied.
  • Confirmed
    The application, which this desk opened, states the more than 20,000 figure and asks for segregation of mail ballots, not cancellation.
  • Partially confirmed
    The application's account of the district court and the Ninth Circuit was not checked against those courts' own orders this morning.
The Supreme Court on Monday, November 2, 2026, refused to order California to keep some mail ballots separate from the rest. In application No. , the United States said it has identified more than 20,000 people on the state's rolls who, in its view, are likely not citizens, and it wanted their ballots held aside until citizenship could be checked. The one-page order does not note a dissent.1
The request came in as an application for an injunction pending appeal. That is a plea for the Supreme Court to make someone act, or stop acting, while a lower-court appeal is still going. The order says the application was presented to Justice Kagan and referred by her to the Court, and that it "is denied."1
Solicitor General D. John Sauer's application says the government identified more than 20,000 individuals who appear to be registered to vote in California and who, "in the United States' view, are likely not U.S. citizens." It asked courts to segregate mail ballots cast by those people until citizenship could be checked, and it says the point was not to cancel the ballots. It cites , which makes it a federal crime for a noncitizen to vote in an election for president or Congress. The respondents include California, Secretary of State Shirley Weber, and Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan.2
Why it matters (Estimate). Estimate. Tuesday, November 3, 2026, is the federal general election, the Federal Election Commission page says. The Court did not order California to pull the questioned ballots aside. The application argues that once those ballots are mixed with the others they cannot be separated later. That argument is the government's, and the order does not adopt it. People who mailed a ballot in California are the ones the government's request was written about.
The application says a district judge denied the request on October 28, 2026, and that the Ninth Circuit denied an injunction, with Judge Bumatay dissenting. This desk opened the application and the Supreme Court's order. It did not open those lower-court opinions. The figure of more than 20,000 is the government's account in the application, not a finding by the Supreme Court. The order and the docket call the case No. . The first page of the application PDF prints "No. 26A."23
How we know

Notes

  1. 1.Supreme Court of the United States, order list for 610 U.S., Monday, November 2, 2026, order in pending case , , et al. The order says the application for an injunction pending appeal presented to Justice Kagan and by her referred to the Court is denied. It notes no dissents. https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/110226zr_3eb4.pdf Docket: https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/.html The docket says the application was submitted to Justice Kagan on November 2, 2026, referred to the Court the same day, and denied the same day. Counsel of record for the United States is D. John Sauer, Solicitor General. Counsel of record for the State of California and others is Samuel Passchier Siegel. The lower court listed on the docket is the Ninth Circuit, case 26-7231.
  2. 2.Application for an injunction pending appeal, , filed on the docket as No. . The cover page prints No. 26A. The application says the United States identified more than 20,000 individuals who appear to be registered to vote in California and who, in the United States' view, are likely not U.S. citizens. It asked that mail ballots cast by those people be segregated until citizenship could be checked, not canceled. It cites , , and the . A footnote says generally requires mail ballots to be postmarked by Election Day and received within seven days after Election Day. Related proceedings listed in the application: United States District Court for the Central District of California, No. 26-cv-12025, dated October 28, 2026, and the Ninth Circuit, No. 26-7231, dated October 30, 2026. The application says the district court denied relief on October 28 and that Judge Bumatay dissented in the Ninth Circuit. https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/26//431463/20261102111302952_California%20Application.pdf
  3. 3.Federal Election Commission, election dates page. It says Tuesday, November 3, 2026, is the next regularly scheduled federal general election date. https://www.fec.gov/introduction-campaign-finance/election-results-and-voting-information/

What is still unknown or disputed

  • Whether any justice disagreed without a note on the order. The order lists no dissent.
  • Whether the more than 20,000 people are noncitizens. The application says that is the United States' view.
  • What the district court and the Ninth Circuit wrote in their own words. This desk did not open those opinions.
  • An hour for the denial. The order is dated Monday, November 2, 2026, and does not print a clock.
  • Why the application cover prints No. 26A while the order and the docket print No. .

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Order in pending case 26A624

    Supreme Court of the United States · November 2, 2026

    The Court denied the application for an injunction pending appeal presented to Justice Kagan and referred to the Court. The order notes no dissents.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/110226zr_3eb4.pdf

  2. Source 2

    Docket, United States v. California, No. 26A624

    Supreme Court of the United States · November 2, 2026

    The docket shows the application submitted to Justice Kagan, referred to the Court, and denied, all on November 2, 2026.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/26a624.html

  3. Source 3

    Application for an injunction pending appeal

    U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Solicitor General · November 2, 2026

    The application says the United States identified more than 20,000 people registered in California who, in its view, are likely not citizens, and asks that their mail ballots be segregated.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/26/26A624/431463/20261102111302952_California%20Application.pdf

  4. Source 4

    Election dates

    Federal Election Commission · November 3, 2026

    Tuesday, November 3, 2026, is the next regularly scheduled federal general election date.

    https://www.fec.gov/introduction-campaign-finance/election-results-and-voting-information/