Judge orders DOJ to halt threats to election workers
A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Justice Department from threatening state and local election officials, dealing yet another legal setback to the Trump administration as it endeavors to prevent vote-counters in California and elsewhere from setting aside thousands of ballots it claims belong to noncitizens.
U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson issued the ruling as part of a lawsuit filed late Thursday by a coalition of civil rights groups and labor unions, including one that represents election workers in California.
The coalition’s attorneys requested a temporary restraining order halting the Trump administration’s threats to jail election officials who count ballots belonging to voters whom the Justice Department claims might be noncitizens.
On Friday, the judge granted the coalition’s request, issuing a temporary restraining order through Nov. 16.
The Justice Department "shall not threaten, intimidate or coerce state or local elections officials or workers to demand that they halt processing the ballots of any registered voter solely on the basis that the ballot belongs to an individual alleged by [DOJ] to be ineligible to vote,” she wrote in her eight-page order.
Thompson also ordered the Justice Department to inform the court of any pending grand jury subpoenas or search warrant applications.
This week, the Department of Justice issued grand jury subpoenas to local election officials in California as part of its criminal investigation into the state's voter rolls, multiple sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
ABC News has reached out to the DOJ for comment on the judge's order.
-ABC News' Lucien Bruggeman
