Federal Judge Orders Trump Administration to Stop Threatening State Officials

A federal judge in California issued a temporary restraining order on Friday prohibiting the Trump administration from threatening or intimidating state and local election officials.

United States District Judge Trina Thompson in Oakland ruled that the Department of Justice acted outside its constitutional authority and likely breached the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which bars attempts to intimidate, threaten, or coerce individuals administering elections. Thompson stated that while federal officials claimed their actions intended to halt noncitizen voting, the measures risked disrupting election administration and disenfranchising lawful voters.

The court order remains in effect through November 16, extending past the Tuesday midterm elections. The ruling followed a lawsuit filed by labor unions and voting rights organizations opposing federal enforcement actions. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter had previously sent formal notices to election authorities across all 50 states and California counties, warning that failing to retain ballots and poll books, or knowingly permitting noncitizens to cast ballots, carried federal penalties of up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine.

McCotter defended the letters as a civic reminder rather than a threat. In related litigation, federal judges rejected emergency requests by the Department of Justice to block election workers from processing ballots cast by voters on a state list of 20,000 alleged noncitizens. The Department of Justice filed an appeal against Judge Thompson's restraining order with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Saturday.