A federal judge in California on Friday ordered the Justice Department to stop threatening election workers with criminal prosecution over ballots the administration says may have been cast by ineligible voters.1,3,4,5,6
U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson issued a temporary restraining order in a lawsuit brought by unions representing California election workers earlier Friday. Thompson, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, found the Justice and Homeland Security departments likely violated the Voting Rights Act's prohibition on voter intimidation and exceeded their constitutional authority over elections, four days before midterm voting concludes on Tuesday.3,5,2
The order prohibits demands that states remove registered voters, withhold their ballots or stop counting votes solely because the administration claims the voters are ineligible. It also bars threats of criminal prosecution against election workers who refuse those demands or process ballots in accordance with election laws, and requires prosecutors to disclose pending search warrant applications, grand jury subpoenas and other demands related to lists of allegedly ineligible voters.5,2
Thompson found the administration's actions forced election workers to choose between complying with "Defendants' unlawful demands" or risking criminal prosecution for performing their jobs. "In the lead-up to the election," she wrote, "high-ranking DOJ and DHS officials have engaged in a campaign to intimidate, threaten, and coerce state and local officials and employees who are engaged in administering the ongoing midterm 2026 election."5
The ruling followed a separate dispute over California ballots. The administration has alleged California sent ballots to voters it suspects are noncitizens and wants the state to set those ballots aside and not count them until citizenship can be verified. California officials said the list is highly unreliable and most likely includes many people who are U.S. citizens. Millions of people have already voted in California, and elections officials have said hundreds of thousands of ballots have already been processed and processed votes cannot be matched back to the voters who submitted them.2,5
A district court judge denied the request to set aside the California ballots on Wednesday and warned that the department's demands could disenfranchise citizens. On Friday, a divided panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the department's emergency request. "As the district court found – and we discern no clear error – there is no feasible way to identify and segregate the ballots of specific individuals without potentially catastrophic effects on the entire system," the panel wrote in its 2-1 ruling. The majority opinion was authored by Judge Mark J. Bennett, who was appointed by Donald Trump, and Judge Gabriel P. Sanchez, who was appointed by Biden.2,5
The Justice Department has defended its actions as enforcement of federal law. "Federal law prohibits noncitizens from voting. Enforcing that law is not an agenda item. It is the Department's job," the department said in a statement. The top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, has warned: "Any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy." A spokesperson previously said the government would not wait for a "more convenient time" to enforce election laws.2,5
A justice department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling. In July, the department warned election officials in all 50 states they could face criminal charges for knowingly allowing noncitizens to vote. On Thursday, it sent another round of letters nationwide warning of criminal penalties for violating election-record preservation requirements. Noncitizen voting in federal elections is already illegal, and research finds it is rare.5,2
The administration has pressed similar claims in other states. In Washington, federal prosecutors demanded officials segregate ballots from more than 400 voters, and Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said the federal list included U.S. citizens and was unreliable. Since May 2025, the department has filed 31 lawsuits seeking sensitive voter records, and 27 have been dismissed.5
In Arizona, prosecutors announced Friday evening an investigation into three Democratic-aligned registration groups after a right-wing outlet published an undercover video, and the department also requested the state's and Maricopa County's top election officials review registrations. In Alaska, the department sued to delay certification if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses reelection and if votes for a similarly named candidate could have changed the outcome, and prosecutors confirmed a criminal investigation Friday into an alleged Democratic effort to recruit the other Sullivan.5
In a separate ruling Friday, the 9th Circuit left in place through Election Day restrictions on Homeland Security election-related field operations involving known or suspected U.S. citizens in nine states. The underlying order, by Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, found that federal threats had already caused citizens to "withdraw from participating in electoral activity." The appeals court questioned the timing, writing: "In an operation ostensibly focused on past voter fraud, the government could have aggressively pursued its campaign against non-citizen voting well before these elections commenced." Axios put the California figure at more than 20,000 voters; The Guardian put it at about 20,000.5,2
