Trump delivers pre-election speech at reflecting pool as legal battles unfold

President Donald Trump held an event Monday at the Washington, D.C. Reflecting Pool to highlight infrastructure projects and address the midterms.

Election Appeals

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene to force California election workers to set aside mail ballots from thousands of people it claims are not U.S. citizens. Solicitor General D. John Sauer filed the emergency request after a federal appeals court declined to order California officials to segregate ballots cast by more than 20,000 people on a government list of suspected noncitizens. More than 6 million mail ballots have been returned statewide as of Sunday, according to the California secretary of state's office.

Campaign Trail

Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance campaigned in northern New York for Republican Anthony Constintino, tying Democrat Blake Gendebien to former President Joe Biden. In the New York governor's race, incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul campaigned in New York City, while Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman visited Suffolk, Rensselaer, and Oswego counties. Sunday marked the final day of early voting, with over 1.7 million people voting early statewide and 690,526 unofficial ballots cast in New York City.

Context

Midterm elections and pre-election legal challenges over voting procedures regularly intensify in the final days before Americans cast their ballots. Legal battles concerning voter rolls and mail-in ballots frequently reach appellate courts and the Supreme Court for emergency rulings just before election day.