The Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court on Monday for thousands of disputed California mail ballots to be sidelined the day before midterm elections.

The emergency appeal came after a divided appeals court rejected the request to set aside 20,000 ballots from people the government believes may not be citizens.

The government says those ballots should not be counted until the voters’ status can be verified.

California officials say the list is highly unreliable and likely includes many people who are U.S. citizens.

A district court judge forcefully denied the Justice Department’s request and warned that the demand could disenfranchise citizens in Tuesday’s midterm election.