JUDGE TO DOJ: STOP THREATENING ELECTION OFFICIALS DAYS BEFORE THE MIDTERMS

A federal judge in California has ordered the Justice Department to stop threatening to prosecute state and local election officials who do not comply with the administration's demands over ballots it claims may have been cast by noncitizens, Reuters reported.

U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson issued a temporary restraining order on Friday in a case brought by the Service Employees International Union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the League of United Latin American Citizens and the NAACP.

The order bars the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security from threatening, intimidating or coercing election officials into refusing ballots, purging voters from the rolls or setting ballots aside solely because the administration says a voter is ineligible, according to reporting on the ruling.

It also bars threats of prosecution against officials who count ballots as the law requires, and orders the departments to notify every government that received their ballot letters that the threats are now blocked.

The dispute grew out of letters the Justice Department sent to California's secretary of state and the Los Angeles County registrar demanding that ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters be set aside, followed by visits from armed Homeland Security officials delivering similar letters to county officials across the state.

Judge Thompson wrote that the administration's actions would be likely to interfere with election administration and disenfranchise lawful voters, despite its stated aim of preventing unlawful voting. The order runs until 5 p.m. on November 16, with a hearing on a longer injunction set for November 13 — after Election Day on Tuesday, November 3.