Judge Orders Trump Government to Stop Threatening Election Officials for 16 Days

A federal judge issued an eight-page order on Friday night that bars the Trump administration from threatening or intimidating state and local election officials. The order remains in effect until November 16, nearly two weeks after the November 3 midterm elections. The ruling responds to a campaign of pressure launched by federal agencies in the weeks leading up to the vote.

District Judge Trina Thompson, based in California, signed the order. She stated that senior officials from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have engaged in a campaign to threaten and coerce election administrators. The goal, according to the judge, was to force these officials to stop processing ballots from registered voters based solely on the government's claim that those voters were not citizens.

The legal dispute centers on efforts to force California and Washington to separate ballots allegedly cast by non-citizens. A federal appeals court rejected the government's request in California on Friday. This decision followed a separate ruling on Monday that denied the DOJ's petition to block the counting of more than 20,000 ballots. The Washington case remains pending.

Last week, the Justice Department sent letters to election officials in 57 of California's 58 counties. The letters urged officials to cooperate with DOJ investigations into illegal voting. The correspondence warned that officials who did not cooperate could become subjects of investigations themselves. One letter sent on October 22 to a San Bernardino County official cited federal law prohibiting non-citizens from voting in federal elections.

Bilal Essayli, the first deputy attorney general, signed the letters. He attached a list of 1,133 people described as likely foreigners who are registered voters in San Bernardino County. Essayli requested that officials commit within 48 hours to identifying which individuals on the list are citizens and which are not. This process involves sharing non-public voter registration information, including Social Security numbers and state driver's licenses.

The letter instructed officials to set aside, without canceling, mail ballots from those whose citizenship could not be confirmed. Essayli noted that the list was created by DHS using a multi-agency investigation methodology. He warned that legal consequences exist for both facilitating and ignoring federal crimes. Judge Thompson agreed with a federal judge who ruled on Wednesday that the DOJ's request to separate ballots violates long-standing constitutional principles regarding state control over election processes.

Thompson wrote that while the government claims its actions aim to stop illegal voting, they are likely to interfere with election administration. She noted that these actions could deprive legally authorized voters of their right to vote. The order specifically prohibits any action intended to threaten, intimidate, or coerce state or local election employees to stop processing ballots based on the government's citizenship allegations.

The ruling comes as federal agencies continue to challenge the eligibility of specific voter groups in two key states. The appeals court's Friday decision in California marked the second time this week that a federal court ruled against the administration in this dispute. The Washington state case is still active, leaving the legal pressure on election officials in that state unresolved until further court action.