Judge bars Justice Department from threatening election workers over ballots
A federal judge has ordered the Justice Department to stop threatening election officials over how they handle ballots, CNN, CBS News and The Guardian report. The order blocks demands to set ballots aside or purge voter rolls. It lasts until November 16.
A federal judge in California has barred the Justice Department, for now, from threatening election officials over how they count ballots, CNN, CBS News and The Guardian report. District Judge Trina Thompson issued the order late on Friday.
While the order is in place, the Justice Department and Homeland Security cannot ask officials to set ballots aside, CNN reports. Nor can they ask them to purge voters from the rolls or stop counting. They also cannot threaten election officials with criminal charges.
The government says it wants to stop noncitizens from voting. But Thompson wrote that its actions are "likely to have the effect of interfering with election administration and disenfranchising lawful voters."
She also ordered the government to tell the court about any search warrant requests for election records, the outlets report. The same goes for any grand jury subpoenas. The order ends November 16, and a hearing is set for November 13, CBS News reports. Unions and civil rights groups, including the NAACP, brought the case.
Earlier on Friday, a federal appeals court turned down a Justice Department request. The department wanted California to set aside ballots from about 20,000 people it says may not be citizens. "There is no feasible way to identify and segregate the ballots," the court wrote in a 2-1 ruling, The Guardian reports.
A Justice Department spokesperson did not reply right away to The Guardian about the appeals ruling. In a statement on its wider effort, the department said, "Federal law prohibits noncitizens from voting."
What we know: A judge has blocked Justice Department threats and ballot demands against election officials until November 16.
What we don't: Whether the department will appeal before Election Day.
Where outlets agree CNN, CBS News and The Guardian report Judge Trina Thompson barred the Justice Department from threatening election officials over ballots.
Where they differ CNN says the order bars demands on election officials in any state, while CBS News describes the lawsuit as centered on California election workers.