The Trump administration on Monday asked the Supreme Court to take its appeal in a case where it has unsuccessfully sought to block California from counting the mail-in ballots of about 20,000 voters whom the Department of Justice suggests may not be U.S. citizens.
The DOJ's petition to the Supreme Court came three days after the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected the department's bid to block a lower federal court's injunction, which allowed the ballots to be counted.
The petition comes a day before Election Day. The Supreme Court could act on the petition at any time, but there is no deadline.
The midterm elections will determine which parties hold majorities in both chambers of Congress.
The DOJ sued the state of California on Oct. 15 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The civil complaint sought to prevent state election officials from tabulating mail-in ballots "from likely non-citizens in the upcoming federal election until the voter's citizenship status can be determined."