The U.S. Dept. of Justice escalated its feud with California officials on Monday when it filed for a temporary restraining order over 20,000 likely noncitizen voters.
The DOJ is demanding that officials set aside the ballots from the list of people registered to vote but tagged by the Trump administration as possible noncitizens.
'Once illegally cast ballots are counted and commingled with lawful votes, the resulting harm may be impossible to remedy.'
California previously refused the request from the Trump administration to either confirm the voters' eligibility or set aside the 20,000 voters.
The DOJ filed for the temporary restraining order in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
"California not just refused to act; it made clear that it is committed to treating ballots from those likely noncitizens equal to ballots from American citizens, prompting this suit and motion that seeks commonplace election relief when ballots are called into question," reads the filing from the DOJ.
"Once illegally cast ballots are counted and commingled with lawful votes, the resulting harm may be impossible to remedy," the DOJ argued. "The urgency is heightened because of the fundamental right to vote and to have one's lawful vote counted without dilution."
California officials accused the administration of trying to meddle with the state's election after the DOJ filed a lawsuit on Thursday to stop the ballots from being counted.
"This is a sad, desperate attempt by Trump to use his politicized Justice Department to try to suppress California voters just three weeks before Election Day," Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom responded.
"Courts have made clear the federal government has no role in running state elections," he added. "We will defend free and fair elections in the Golden State and call out every authoritarian attempt to undermine our democracy."
The state's secretary of state said the the allegations were "vague and unsubstantiated" and accused the administration of refusing to provide its evidence that the registered voters were noncitizens.
RELATED: Newsom is OUTRAGED over Justice Department lawsuit to block votes from 20,000 'likely noncitizens'
Noncitizens can be illegal aliens but also includes those who are permanent legal residents who have not obtained citizenship.
"The Trump Admin’s last-minute demands are meritless, and we look forward to making our case in court," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said on social media about the lawsuit.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
