Judge Trina Thompson orders DOJ to halt threats against election officials over record-keeping and ballot processing

State and local election workers are shielded through November 16 from potential criminal penalties and pressure regarding the processing of mail-in ballots for approximately 20,000 individuals flagged by the Department of Justice.

• •Judge Trina Thompson issued an eight-page emergency order prohibiting the Trump administration from threatening or intimidating state or local election workers.
• •The order forbids actions that coerce election workers into stopping the processing of mail-in ballots from registered voters whom the administration claims are ineligible non-citizens.
• •The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed in the Northern District of California by a coalition of unions and civil rights groups, including the NAACP and LULAC.
• •The lawsuit sought a temporary restraining order to stop federal threats to jail election officials counting mail-in ballots for approximately 20,000 individuals classified by the DOJ as non-citizens.
• •The court order remains in effect until November 16.
• •The Department of Justice previously sent letters to state and local employees warning of potential criminal sanctions related to record-keeping compliance.
• •The DOJ asserted its actions were designed to stop illegal voting by non-citizens, while the judge noted the actions risk interfering with election administration and disenfranchising legal voters.
• •The DOJ arrested 28 California residents accused of fraudulent voter registration.