Federal judge restricts DOJ and DHS pressure on election officials over voters the administration calls ineligible

US District Judge Trina Thompson granted a temporary restraining order on Friday limiting how the Justice Department (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can press state and local election officials over voters the administration says are ineligible, CNN reported. The case was filed in the Northern District of California.

According to NBC News, the eight-page order bars actions that threaten, intimidate or coerce election officials or workers into halting the processing of ballots solely because the administration alleges the voter is ineligible. Axios reported that it also bars demands that states remove registered voters, withhold ballots or stop counting votes on that basis alone, and bars threats of criminal prosecution against workers who refuse. The Hill reported that it directs the administration to halt efforts to force workers to deny ballot requests or set aside ballots of people it suspects are ineligible.

CNN reported that the administration must tell the judge about any search warrant applications, grand jury subpoenas or other demands to access election materials or ballots tied to its lists of allegedly ineligible voters. CNN and NBC News both report the order runs through Nov. 16.

The plaintiffs are a coalition of labor unions and civil rights groups, CNN reported. The Hill lists SEIU, AFSCME, LULAC and the NAACP among them. CNN reported that they allege Voting Rights Act violations and an unconstitutional intrusion into state control of elections.

Axios reported that Thompson found DOJ and DHS likely violated the Voting Rights Act's prohibition on voter intimidation and exceeded their constitutional authority over elections. According to CNN, the judge wrote that the administration's actions are likely to interfere with election administration and disenfranchise lawful voters, even though the administration says the actions are meant to stop unlawful noncitizen voting. Axios reported that DOJ has defended its election actions as necessary to enforce federal bans on noncitizen voting.

NBC News reported that DOJ sent letters last week to election officials in 57 of California's 58 counties, directing them to cooperate with its illegal-voting investigations or face investigations themselves. CNN reported that election officials say DHS's lists of suspected noncitizens are unreliable and include US citizens.

The order is separate from other court action on Friday. NBC News reported that a federal appeals court rejected the administration's request to force California officials to segregate ballots it says are from noncitizens. Axios reported that the 9th Circuit separately left in place limits on DHS election-related field operations involving known or suspected U.S. citizens in nine states through Election Day.

What we don't know yet

• How DOJ and DHS will respond to this order, and whether the administration will appeal. Axios reported DOJ did not immediately respond to its request for comment.
• What happens after Nov. 16, when the order is set to expire, including whether it is extended or replaced.
• How a separate Washington state case, which NBC News reported is still pending, will be resolved.
• How many of the names on DHS's lists are citizens. Election officials told CNN the lists include citizens, and DOJ's position, as reported by Axios, is that its actions enforce the ban on noncitizen voting.