Judge orders DOJ to stop threatening election officials

A federal judge in California barred the Department of Justice (DOJ) from threatening to prosecute state and local election officials who do not follow the department’s directives for handling ballots.

In a sweeping order Friday, U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson said labor and civil rights organizations challenging the DOJ have shown that the department’s threats likely violate federal law and the U.S. Constitution and are “interfering with the lawful administration of elections.”

Thompson, whom former President Joe Biden nominated, ordered the DOJ not to “threaten, intimidate or coerce state or local elections officials or workers to demand that they halt processing the ballots” that the federal government suspects may have been cast by noncitizens or confused voters.

While other judges overseeing lawsuits stemming from the DOJ’s ballot demands have insisted that the department cease threatening election officials, Thompson’s temporary restraining ​order is the first to legally bar such threats.

Thompson warned that such intimidation efforts threaten free and fair elections.

“One of the hallmarks of a fair election is the freedom to exercise the right to vote free from threat, fear, or intimidation. Free exercise of the right to vote is a core tenet of our democracy. It requires safeguarding to ensure full participation and public trust in our elections. Election Day is around the corner,” the judge wrote.

“Ballots have already been issued. Americans have already begun voting. Workers have already begun processing ballots. Given the consequences of inaction, the Court sees no reason to delay its ruling,” she added.

This month, the DOJ threatened to prosecute election officials across California if they processed up to 20,000 ballots from people the federal government has claimed are noncitizens. The department made similar demands of Washington state officials.

On Friday, the department asked a federal judge to force Alaska to preserve and segregate ballots that may be affected by alleged voter confusion in the state’s U.S. Senate race, which features two candidates with nearly identical names. 

That same day, the DOJ also sent all state election chiefs letters telling them to preserve ballots and other election records and warning that willful violations of a federal record-keeping law can carry criminal penalties.

Though Thompson is based in Northern California, her order appears to apply nationwide. It is set to expire after Election Day, which is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The NAACP, the League of United Latin American Citizens and multiple labor organizations — including the Service Employees International Union, A.F.L.-C.I.O. and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — that represent state and local election officials filed the suit Thursday.