Federal judge issues emergency order blocking DOJ and DHS actions against election officials
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U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson granted a temporary restraining order halting Justice Department and Homeland Security attempts to pressure election officials over ballot processing and voter eligibility.
U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson granted a temporary restraining order Friday evening, prohibiting the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security from demanding that state election officials segregate ballots, purge voter rolls, or halt ballot processing. The order also bars threats of criminal prosecution and any actions that could intimidate or coerce officials regarding ballot procedures.
Thompson, appointed by President Joe Biden, wrote that while officials follow lawful procedures for the 2026 midterm election, they do not violate federal criminal law even if a ballot belongs to a voter alleged to be ineligible. She required the administration to notify the court of any search warrants, grand jury subpoenas, or other demands for election materials related to lists alleging voter ineligibility.
The emergency order, set to expire on November 16, was sought by a coalition of labor unions and civil-rights groups, including the NAACP and LULAC, who argue the administration’s actions breach the Voting Rights Act and intrude on state control of elections. The groups contend that a data-matching program run by DHS, which compares state voter lists with federal records, produces unreliable lists that mistakenly label U.S. citizens as noncitizens.
The ruling follows recent court decisions limiting the administration’s efforts to pressure states over alleged non-citizen voting. Federal law already requires jurisdictions to preserve election records for 22 months, and a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the administration lacks authority to intervene in state citizenship-verification processes.