A federal judge has ordered the Justice Department to stop threatening to prosecute election officials who refuse its demands over alleged non-citizen voting. The ruling came on Oct. 30, days before the midterm elections.
According to the Straits Times, US District Judge Trina Thompson ordered the Justice Department to stop threatening state and local election officials who do not comply with Trump administration demands on alleged non-citizen voting. Thompson also ordered the administration not to demand that local officials remove voters from statewide rolls, refuse ballots to specific voters, or segregate midterm ballots based on its list of alleged non-citizen voters, the Straits Times reported.
The order is a temporary restraining order. CBS News reported that Thompson found federal officials have likely violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965’s ban on intimidating, threatening or coercing people who help others vote.
The dispute has also played out in California. According to NBC News, the Justice Department sent letters to election officials in 57 of California’s 58 counties, directing them to cooperate with its investigations or face investigations themselves.
In an Oct. 22 letter to San Bernardino County, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bilal Essayli attached a list of "1133 likely aliens" and asked officials to segregate, not cancel, ballots of individuals whose citizenship could not be confirmed, NBC News reported.
Earlier, a federal judge denied the Justice Department’s request to make California set aside more than 20,000 ballots, according to CBS News. An appeals court rejected a request to segregate the ballots on Friday, CBS News reported. The figures for the ballots and the 1133-name list are the administration’s allegations and have not been independently verified in these sources.
CBS News reported that the Justice Department sent letters in July to all 50 states and Washington, D.C., threatening criminal prosecution of local election officials, and cited those letters in the lawsuit. The lawsuit was brought by labor unions and other groups.
The stakes are political as well. According to Reuters, as relayed by the Straits Times, Republicans hold narrow majorities in the House and Senate. Polls favour Democrats to take control of the House and give them a plausible chance at the Senate.
A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 13, and the restraining order runs through Nov. 16, nearly two weeks after the Nov. 3 midterm Election Day, according to CBS News and NBC News.
The Justice Department had no immediate comment on the ruling, according to the Straits Times and CBS News, which said it reached out for comment. Only one lawsuit’s details are reported in these sources. NBC News describes a Washington state case over separating ballots only as pending, with no further details.
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This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.