U.S. Judge Blocks Justice Department from Threatening Election Officials Ahead of Midterms
In a decisive legal blow to the Trump administration days before the November 3 midterm elections, a U.S. federal court has prohibited the Department of Justice from coercing or threatening local election workers with criminal prosecution over ballot processing.
Judge Trina Thompson of the Northern District of California issued a temporary restraining order in a case brought by labor unions and civil rights groups against the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security.
Ruling that federal officials cannot force local authorities to halt processing ballots or strip individuals from voter lists, the judge condemned the administration’s aggressive tactics as arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law.
The injunction represents the administration’s second major courtroom defeat on voting access within a single week, coming shortly after a separate federal judge blocked efforts to void more than twenty thousand California ballots.
As Republicans attempt to maintain control of Congress, civil rights advocates praised the order for safeguarding election administrators against executive intimidation ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
U.S. Judge Blocks Justice Department from Threatening Election Officials Ahead of Midterms
