A US federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Justice Department from threatening state and local election officials with criminal prosecution if they fail to comply with its directives on processing ballots, AFP reported.
The order was issued by Judge Trina Thompson of the Northern District of California, in response to a case brought by labour unions and civil rights groups against the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security. Thompson wrote: “Defendants shall not threaten, intimidate or coerce state or local elections officials or workers to demand that they halt processing the ballots of any registered voter solely on the basis that the ballot belongs to an individual alleged by Defendants to be ineligible to vote.”
The judge also ruled that Justice Department officials “shall not threaten state or local election officials and workers with criminal prosecution for failure to comply” with such demands. In a wide-ranging order, she said the defendants shall not demand the removal of specific registered voters from voter lists, refuse to issue ballots to specific voters, or demand ballots not be counted because of alleged ineligibility to vote.
The ruling deals a setback to Trump administration efforts to restrict voting by people it says might not be US citizens, ahead of the midterm elections on 3 November. Thompson said the temporary restraining order, which expires on 16 November, was justified “given the fast-approaching date of the Election” and because the plaintiffs “have demonstrated that they will likely succeed on the merits of their claims.” She described the “intimidation” and threats of criminal prosecution of election workers as “contrary to law” and “arbitrary and capricious.”
The ruling follows a separate decision on Wednesday, in which another federal judge rejected the Justice Department’s efforts to set aside the ballots of more than 20,000 California voters it said might not be citizens.
The order is temporary, not a final ruling on the underlying lawsuit.
[Illustrative image note: the featured image is a stock photo used for illustration only; it is not a photo of the court proceedings.]
Source: AFP, “US judge bars DOJ from intimidating election officials over non-citizen voting claims” — https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2026/10/31/us-judge-bars-doj-from-intimidating-election-officials-over-non-citizen-voting-claims/241393
