WASHINGTON: Six hours and 24 minutes. That is how long it took the US Supreme Court's justices to shut down President Donald Trump's attempt to intervene in California's ballot count on the eve of Tuesday's midterm elections.

Usually an institution that takes its time with decisions — mostly over months but even in emergency actions, over weeks — the justices acted on Monday with remarkable speed. They gave the administration's case the same kind of unceremonious treatment sometimes exhibited in matters they apparently deem unworthy of the top US judicial body's attention.

The court's decision to deny the administration's request to temporarily block California from counting mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters who federal officials allege are likely non-US citizens came in a brief, one-sentence order. The court offered no explanation for its decision, and there were no publicly noted dissents among the justices.