A federal judge barred the Department of Justice (DOJ) from threatening state and local election officials with criminal prosecution for counting ballots cast by individuals it deemed ineligible to vote.
Judge Trina Thompson of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a temporary restraining order on Oct. 30 after the Service Employees International Union and other groups filed a lawsuit, accusing the Trump administration of trying to intimidate election workers and interfere with state administration of the midterm elections.
In an eight-page ruling, Thompson said the DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security likely violated Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits intimidation and coercion in the voting process.
The judge also found that the departments exceeded their authority under the elections clause, saying the Constitution gives states the right to regulate congressional elections.
The restraining order bars the administration from requiring election officials to remove registered voters from statewide voter rolls. It also prohibits the DOJ from directing election officials to deny ballots to specific registered voters or set aside ballots solely based on the administration’s claims that those voters are ineligible to vote.
The order also requires the DOJ to reach out to any state or local governments that had received letters warning of possible prosecution and inform them that the “demands and threats of prosecution to election officials and workers” reflected in those letters are now barred under the court order.
“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,” the judge wrote.
The order will remain in effect until 5 p.m. local time on Nov. 16.
The Epoch Times reached out to the DOJ for comment but did not receive a response.
The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit on Oct. 29 after the DOJ sued California on Oct. 15 to prevent the counting of mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 people identified by the federal government as likely noncitizens until their voting eligibility is confirmed. Judge David Carter of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California rejected the administration’s request on Oct. 28.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in a 2–1 decision on Oct. 30, also denied the administration’s bid for an injunction that would have barred the ballots from being tallied until the voters’ citizenship was verified.
Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter on Oct. 16 sent a letter to the Los Angeles County Counsel’s office, warning that county officials could risk “becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime” if they knowingly count ballots from suspected noncitizens.
April Verrett, international president of the Service Employees International Union, said in a statement on Oct. 30: “No one should go to work fearing that doing their job could land them in jail. Election workers deserve to feel safe and respected while making sure every eligible voter can cast a ballot and have it counted.”
Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the date the plaintiffs filed the lawsuit. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
