Judge Bars DOJ From Threatening Election Staff With Criminal Prosecution Over Ballots Processing
Observers watch as election officials count votes for Fulton County in Atlanta on Jan. 6, 2021. Megan Varner/Getty Images
A federal judge barred the Department of Justice (DOJ) from threatening state and local election officials with criminal prosecution for counting ballots cast by individuals it deemed ineligible to vote.
U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson issued a temporary restraining order on Friday after Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and other groups filed a lawsuit, accusing the Trump administration of trying to intimidate election workers and interfere with state administration of the upcoming midterm elections.
In an eight-page ruling, Thompson said the DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) likely violated Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits intimidation and coercion in the voting process.
The judge also found that the departments exceeded their authority under the Elections Clause, saying the Constitution reserves the right to regulate congressional elections to states.
The restraining order bars the administration from requiring election officials to remove registered voters from statewide voter rolls. It also prohibits the DOJ from directing election officials to deny ballots to specific registered voters or set aside ballots solely based on the administration’s claims that those voters are ineligible to vote.
The order also requires the DOJ to reach out to any state or local governments that had received letters warning of possible prosecution and inform them that the “demands and threats of prosecution to election officials and workers” reflected in those letters are now barred under the court order.
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“Because the public has a paramount interest in ensuring that election officials and workers are able to carry out their work in accordance with federal law and election procedure, and the official day of the Elections is only a couple of days away, the balance of the equities and public interest weigh in plaintiffs’ favor,” the judge wrote.
The order will remain in effect until 5 p.m. local time on Nov. 16.
The Epoch Times has reached out to the DOJ for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit on Oct. 30 after the DOJ sued California on Oct. 15 to prevent the counting of mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 people identified by the federal government as likely noncitizens until their voting eligibility is confirmed. U.S. District Judge David Carter rejected the administration’s request on Oct. 28.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in a 2–1 decision on Oct. 30, also denied the administration’s bid for an injunction that would have barred the ballots from being tallied until the voters’ citizenship was verified.
Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter on Oct. 16 sent a letter to the Los Angeles County Counsel’s office, warning that county officials could risk “becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime” if they knowingly count ballots from suspected noncitizens.
SEIU international president April Verrett said in a statement on Friday: “No one should go to work fearing that doing their job could land them in jail. Election workers deserve to feel safe and respected while making sure every eligible voter can cast a ballot and have it counted.”
Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
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