The Justice Department asked Friday to dismiss its lawsuit seeking to have California set aside ballots tied to roughly 20,000 voter records it disputed. The department said the remedy it sought would no longer be available once ballots were processed and mixed in with other votes, the Associated Press reported.
California officials disputed the accuracy of the federal list and said it included eligible voters. A federal judge had allowed the election to proceed and appointed a special master to examine the dispute. The challenged records were the subject of allegations, and the figure does not establish how many ineligible people voted.
The dismissal request concerns this bid to separate ballots. The Justice Department said it would continue pursuing suspected violations through other cases. California’s vote count was still underway Friday.