Democrats ask judge to fast track lawsuit to block Trump admin’s midterm threats

By Jim Saksa

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The E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse, for the US District Court and US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, is seen in Washington, DC, November 3, 2025. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Democrats have asked a federal judge to move quickly in their lawsuit seeking to stop the White House from threatening state and local election officials with criminal prosecution and demanding that states remove voters from registration rolls.*

In a filing Friday, Democrats asked U.S. District Judge James Boasberg for expedited discovery — the pre-hearing exchange of evidence between litigants — given the rapidly approaching election. They are seeking communications in which the Trump administration demands — or plans to demand — that election officials remove specific registered voters from the rolls, refuse to issue ballots to individual voters, or not count ballots cast by certain voters.

The Democrats are “seriously contemplating a request for emergency relief on the claims alleged in their complaint, which implicate both the fundamental right to vote and the proper allocation of constitutional authority when it comes to administering elections,” the plaintiffs wrote, requesting the defendants’ answers by Oct. 28.

The plaintiffs — a group of party organizations and elected officials led by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee — sued President Donald Trump, Attorney General Todd Blanche, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Tuesday over the administration’s attempts to “intimidate and coerce election officials who aid and urge registered voters to cast ballots, as well as lawful voters—particularly naturalized citizens—who seek to exercise their most fundamental right.” 

The administration has yet to file a response to the initial complaint. 

The suit came just a week after Trump’s DOJ sued California and Los Angeles County when election officials refused to set aside 20,000 voters’ ballots based on unverified claims they were noncitizens. 

On Thursday, the DOJ also asked Alaska to preemptively block the Senate results there if the incumbent Republican loses narrowly. Legal experts have excoriated both cases as meritless and riddled with procedural problems. 

*The Elias Law Group (ELG) represents the Democrats in this case. ELG Firm Chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.