USAupdated 1h ago4 min read
Federal Judge Trina Thompson Bars Trump DOJ From Threatening Election Workers Ahead Of 2026 Midterms
“If he can’t win Americans’ support, he’ll try to cancel their vote.”
“Courts would likely quickly step in and stop such efforts.”
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Judge Trina Thompson temporarily barred DOJ from threatening election workers with criminal prosecution. Ruling found the actions likely violated the Voting Rights Act's voter intimidation ban.
Save coverage image
Judge blocks DOJ threats
A federal judge temporarily barred the Trump administration from threatening election workers with criminal prosecution over ballots linked to suspected noncitizens ahead of the 2026 midterms, and U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson said the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security likely violated the Voting Rights Act by threatening election workers for processing ballots the administration claims are ineligible.
Thompson wrote, "One of the hallmarks of a fair election is the freedom to exercise the right to vote free from threat, fear, or intimidation," and the eight-page order prohibited federal officials from threatening, intimidating or coercing state and local election workers into halting ballot processing solely because the administration alleges certain registered voters are ineligible.
The order also barred the administration from demanding that election officials remove registered voters from voter rolls, refuse to issue them ballots or segregate or decline to count their ballots based solely on those allegations, and Thompson noted, "Ballots have already been issued."
The ruling came as the Trump administration sought voter registration information from states ahead of the Nov. 3 elections, and an appeals court separately ruled against the administration’s emergency request to require California to set aside mail-in ballots associated with roughly 20,000 voters while officials reviewed citizenship status.
The lawsuit was brought by labor unions and civil rights organizations, including the Service Employees International Union and the NAACP, and Thompson said, "the balance of the equities and public interest weigh in Plaintiffs' favor".
Letters, subpoenas, and court
The judge’s sweeping order blocked the Trump administration from threatening or intimidating election officials, and Thompson wrote, “In the lead-up to the election, 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.”
NBC News reported that the Justice Department sent letters to election officials in 57 of California’s 58 counties, and a letter sent to an election official in San Bernardino County on Oct. 22 said, “I write to seek your help to protect the integrity of the ongoing federal election.”
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bilal Essayli wrote in the San Bernardino County letter that he was attaching a list of “1133 likely aliens” registered to vote, and he asked officials, “Within 48 hours, we ask that you commit to working with DOJ and DHS to identify who on the accompanying list is a citizen and who is not,”.
The order extended through Nov. 16, nearly two weeks after Election Day, and NBC News said a federal appeals court rejected the administration’s request to force California election officials to segregate ballots that it says are from noncitizens.
The New York Times reported that a federal appeals court rejected the administration’s effort to order California officials to set aside more than 20,000 mail-in ballots, and it said the union representing California election workers filed suit over the subpoenas, accusing the Justice Department of “unprecedented and unlawful threats”.
What comes next
The dispute over federal pressure on election administration is tied to broader efforts to challenge voter eligibility and ballot handling, and NBC News said the order came in the wake of efforts to require states like California and Washington to separate out ballots the administration says could be cast by noncitizens.
Fox News said the ruling came as the Trump administration sought voter registration information from states ahead of the Nov. 3 elections, and it described the temporary restraining order as blocking federal demands to remove registered voters from voter rolls, refuse to issue ballots, or segregate or decline to count ballots based solely on the administration’s allegations.
The Guardian framed the stakes as a risk that federal actions could slow down certification of election results, and it quoted Ned Foley saying, “I put the probability of these impactful nightmare scenarios materializing at under 50%, so I’m not expecting them to make a difference,”.
The Guardian also quoted Danielle Lang saying, “It’s amounting to relatively little because the federal government is just not in charge of the levers of election administration and it can’t force itself to be involved in those levers of election administration.”
The New York Times reported that the administration could ask the Supreme Court to intervene after the court rejections, and it said Trump would travel to Kansas and Iowa for campaign rallies on Sunday after rallies were canceled earlier in the week.