A federal judge on Friday temporarily barred the Trump administration from threatening election workers with criminal prosecution over ballots tied to suspected noncitizens, finding that the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security likely violated the Voting Rights Act's prohibition against voter intimidation. The order came just days before the midterm elections.
U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson, a judge appointed by President Joe Biden, wrote in an eight-page order that « one of the hallmarks of a fair election is the freedom to exercise the right to vote free from threat, fear, or intimidation. » She found that the federal government had likely crossed that line by threatening election workers with prosecution for processing ballots from voters the administration claims are ineligible.
The temporary restraining order prohibits federal officials from threatening, intimidating or coercing state and local election workers into halting ballot processing solely because the administration alleges certain registered voters are ineligible. It also bars the administration from demanding that election officials remove registered voters from voter rolls, refuse to issue them ballots, or segregate or decline to count their ballots based solely on those allegations. Thompson also ordered the administration to notify state and local governments that received the disputed letters that the demands and threats of prosecution contained in them have been blocked.
The lawsuit was brought by labor unions and civil rights organizations, including the Service Employees International Union and the NAACP. The ruling comes as the Trump administration has sought voter registration information from states ahead of the Nov. 3 elections, arguing that its efforts are aimed at preventing noncitizen voting and protecting election integrity.
In explaining her decision, Thompson weighed the public interest in the timing of the vote. « Because the public has a paramount interest in ensuring that election officials and workers are able to carry out their work in accordance with federal law and election procedure, and the official day of the Elections is only a couple of days away, the balance of the equities and public interest weigh in Plaintiffs' favor, » she wrote. She also noted that « ballots have already been issued » and that « Americans have already begun voting. »
Separately on Friday, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against another emergency request from the administration. The Justice Department had asked that California be required to set aside mail-in ballots associated with roughly 20,000 voters that federal officials identified as likely noncitizens while their citizenship status was verified. The appeals court denied that request, handing the administration another setback just four days before Election Day.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.