A US federal court judge has issued an order prohibiting the administration of President Donald Trump from intimidating, pressuring, or threatening state and local election officials who do not comply with demands to review and segregate ballots from voters suspected by the administration to lack US citizenship. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has filed an appeal against this order ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.
Judge Trina Thompson of the federal court in California ordered the Trump administration to refrain from any acts of intimidation, threats, or coercion against state and local election officials and workers aimed at halting the counting or processing of legally registered voters' ballots solely because the administration alleges these individuals may be ineligible to vote due to citizenship issues.
The order remains effective until November 16, nearly two weeks after the midterm elections scheduled for November 3, a crucial vote that will determine whether the Republican or Democratic Party holds the majority in the US Congress.
In her ruling, Judge Thompson noted that senior officials from the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security have applied pressure, intimidation, and coercion on election officials in the lead-up to the election. She pointed out that although the administration claims it seeks to prevent non-citizens from voting, these actions risk interfering with the election process and disenfranchising legally eligible voters.
However, the US Department of Justice filed an appeal against the judge's order with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals based in California on Saturday, October 31, seeking to overturn the ruling.
This case arose from the Trump administration's efforts to require states—particularly California and Washington—to segregate ballots suspected of being cast by non-citizens. The Department of Justice sent letters to election officials in 57 of California’s 58 counties the previous week, requesting cooperation in investigating allegations of votes by non-citizens and warning that officials who fail to cooperate might face investigation themselves.
In a letter sent on October 22 to election officials in San Bernardino County, Bilal Ansari, the First Assistant US Attorney, stated that the Department of Justice attached a list of 1,133 individuals believed to be non-citizens registered to vote in the area. He requested officials verify these individuals' citizenship status within 48 hours and provide confidential information such as Social Security numbers, identification cards, or driver’s licenses to the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security.
The letter also requested that officials temporarily segregate mail-in ballots from individuals whose citizenship status could not be confirmed, emphasizing that this was not a cancellation of ballots but a suspension of processing until verification was completed. It warned of legal consequences if officials ignored the request or assisted in violating federal law.
Nevertheless, these efforts by the Trump administration faced multiple legal defeats. On Friday, a federal appeals court rejected the Department of Justice’s request to compel California election officials to separate ballots allegedly cast by non-citizens. Earlier, another appeals court denied a petition to halt the counting of over 20,000 ballots in the state.
Another federal judge stated that the demand to segregate ballots violated constitutional principles granting states authority over their election administration and questioned the methods used by the administration to identify suspected non-citizens.
This court order resulted from lawsuits filed by the Election Officials Union and other groups who argued that the federal government was overreaching by interfering excessively in state election administration. Critics, including political experts and election officials from both the Democratic and some Republican parties, have expressed concern over this approach.
The US midterm elections on November 3 will decide which party controls the majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Currently, the Republican Party holds a slim majority. The Trump administration’s attempts to increase federal oversight of the election process have become a significant point of contention ahead of the vote.
Judge Thompson was appointed by former President Joe Biden. President Trump has repeatedly made false claims regarding elections, including refusing to accept defeat in the 2020 presidential election.