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Judge orders DOJ to stop threatening to prosecute election officials
Yahoo • • nation
Key Points:
- A federal judge, Trina Thompson, ordered the Justice Department to stop threatening state and local election officials with criminal prosecution over voter qualification disputes ahead of the midterm elections.
- The judge also barred the Trump administration from demanding election workers remove voters from rolls, refuse ballots, or segregate ballots based on claims of voter ineligibility.
- The ruling was issued in response to a lawsuit by the Service Employees International Union and requires the DOJ to notify officials who received prosecution threats that such actions have been enjoined.
- This order reinforces a similar warning by another California judge, David Carter, who recently blocked the DOJ's attempt to discard ballots from suspected noncitizens in California.
- The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to overturn Judge Carter's ruling, further limiting the DOJ's efforts to intervene in state election processes.
