The United States filed in support of the Republicans on 16 October in Republican National Committee v. Mi Familia Vota (25-1017), asking the Supreme Court for a share of the time at argument on 8 December1. The case turns on the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), the 1993 federal law that bars states from running systematic voter-roll removal programmes in the 90 days before a federal election, and on how far that quiet period reaches. Three sets of respondents, including the Democratic National Committee, filed their briefs on 13 October. The quiet period also bears on the voter-roll removals DOJ has demanded from states. Argument falls after the 3 November election, so the ruling governs future elections rather than this one.
15SEP
US backs RNC in Mi Familia Vota case
2 min read
14:21UTC
The federal government asked on 16 October for a share of argument time to support the Republican National Committee in the Supreme Court's voter-roll quiet-period case.
PoliticsAssessed
Key takeaway
The federal government has joined the Republican side in the Supreme Court's NVRA quiet-period case.
Deep Analysis
In plain English
A 1993 federal law, the National Voter Registration Act, bars states from running large clean-ups of their voter lists in the 90 days before a federal election. The idea was to stop eligible voters being dropped too late to fix mistakes. the Supreme Court is now deciding whether that freeze also covers removing people a state believes are not citizens. The federal government has joined the Republican side.
Root Causes
The 1993 law was written mainly to stop states purging voters who had moved or missed elections. Its text bars systematic removal programmes within 90 days of a federal election but does not mention citizenship checks.
Since the Supreme Court restored bulk SAVE checks in September, states can produce large lists of possible non-citizens in the autumn of an election year. That timing forces the question the law left open.
What could happen next?
- Precedent
A ruling for the Republicans would let states run citizenship removals up to election day in future cycles.
- Risk
Late removals leave wrongly flagged citizens little time to restore their registration.
Mentions:United States →Republican National Committee v. Mi Familia Vota →National Voter Registration Act →Republican National Committee →Mi Familia Vota →Supreme Court of the United States →Coalition →Democratic National Committee →Virginia →Campaign Legal Center →Florida →Brennan Center for Justice →Arcia v. Florida Secretary of State →Beals v. Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights →
First Reported In
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Supreme Court of the United States· 17 Oct 2026
Read original →Causes and effects
This Event
US backs RNC in Mi Familia Vota case
The government's support adds weight to the Republican side in a case over how close to an election states may remove voters.
Different Perspectives
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Senate Leadership Fund (SLF)
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Richard Hudson, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee
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Department of Justice (DOJ)
DOJ lost before Judge David O. Carter on 28 October and a 9th Circuit panel on 30 October on its demand to set aside 20,000 California ballots, and says it will appeal the Alaska dismissal. No court has set a ballot aside.
Senator Dan S. Sullivan
Sullivan, who trails Mary Peltola 48.2% to 47.9% on first choices, told CNN he would accept the result. DOJ's suit to stop Alaska certifying anyone but him was dismissed on 1 November.
Scott Colom's campaign
Colom's campaign estimates that about 15,000 affidavit ballots remain to be counted in a race he leads by roughly 65 to 100 votes. Those ballots count only if voters confirm their ID or eligibility by 5pm on 10 November.
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Editorial standards.