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Federal Judge Halts Trump DOJ Threats to Election Workers
· Confirmed
In Short: A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday, halting the Trump administration's threats to election workers over suspected noncitizen ballots.
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday, halting the Trump administration's threats to election workers over suspected noncitizen ballots. The order bars the administration from pressuring election officials to reject ballots or segregate votes based on allegations of noncitizens voting.
The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by unions representing election workers and pro-voting groups, who argued that the Trump administration's actions were likely to violate federal voting rights law and constitutional limits on federal authority.
Judge Trina Thompson, appointed by President Biden, said in her order that the administration's actions could interfere with the lawful administration of the 2026 midterm elections and the counting of ballots.
The Trump administration had sent letters to election officials in 57 of California's 58 counties, directing them to cooperate with the DOJ's investigations of illegal voting or face investigations themselves.
The judge 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.
In a separate case, Judge David Carter had previously warned that any threats to state and county elected employees should cease immediately, emphasizing the importance of being a United States citizen and participating in elections.
The unions representing election workers throughout California sued the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over what they called its 'unprecedented and unlawful threats to state and local election workers.'
The plaintiffs, including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFL-CIO), argued that the administration's actions significantly risked interfering with the ongoing midterm elections.
The judge's order 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 allegations.
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.
The judge also directed the Justice Department to disclose any pending search warrant applications, grand jury subpoenas, or other demands seeking election materials or testimony related to allegedly ineligible voters.
The judge's decision underscores the importance of protecting the integrity of the electoral process and ensuring that election workers can perform their duties without fear of intimidation or prosecution.
What this adds
The ruling is a significant legal setback for the Trump administration, which has been under scrutiny for its tactics in the weeks leading up to the midterm elections.
The judge's order is a clear signal that the administration's aggressive tactics will not be tolerated, and that the integrity of the electoral process must be protected.
Background
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday, halting the Trump administration's threats to election workers over suspected noncitizen ballots.
A federal judge issued a sweeping order Friday night blocking the Trump administration from threatening or intimidating election officials amid pressure tactics used in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
What's confirmed
- "One of the hallmarks of a fair election is the freedom to exercise the right to vote free from threat, fear, or intimidation," Thompson, a Biden-appointed judge, wrote in the eight-page order.
- "Americans have already begun voting." 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 order 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.
What's still developing
- In recent weeks, federal prosecutors have implied that election workers who process ballots they’ve been told may have been cast by a noncitizen could be held criminally liable.
- County Registrar Dean Logan in hopes of forcing election officials to temporarily set aside the ballots in question — either by not mailing a ballot to an individual on the federal government’s list if one hadn’t been sent yet or not processing a ballot if the person had already voted — until that individual’s citizenship status could be confirmed.
- “There’s clearly no legitimate law enforcement purpose here with regard to the service of these subpoenas, the ongoing litigation,” said Center for Election Innovation & Research executive director David Becker, a leading elections expert.
- The letters, dated Oct. 29 and signed by Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter, remind officials to preserve election records for 22 months after a federal election.
- “Election officials know that they have an obligation to comply with this law — they know that real, real well — and this certainly looks like it’s meant to intimidate rather than to inform,” he said.
- “I have never seen the DOJ send this kind of letter across the country in the days before the election,” University of Kentucky election professor Joshua Douglas said.
- Restoring Social Trust in Democracy, Courts, Democracy, Elections, Politics and Elections, Supreme Court, Trump Administration +4 More The Trump administration is carrying out a plan to subvert the 2026 midterm elections with a goal of entrenching its power and escaping accountability from voters.
- For decades, political scientists who study backsliding democracies around the world have identified a crucial tactic used by would-be authoritarians: Once they have dismantled traditional checks and balances and weaponized government against their perceived political enemies, they move to disrupt and control elections to ensure that they and their allies remain in office.
- The Constitution gives no authority to presidents to control elections; instead, the Constitution gives states the primary power—with Congress as a backstop—to conduct free and fair elections.
- The Trump administration has seized unprecedented control over the federal government and is now executing a plan to subvert the 2026 midterm elections—determined to entrench its power and continue its policy agenda without accountability.
- The letters, sent by the Office of the Deputy Attorney General just days before Election Day, tell officials they must preserve federal election records for 22 months under a decades-old federal law.
- When announcing it, Trump said he would personally decide who is paid.