Judge orders DOJ to stop trying to "intimidate" California election officials

Key points

• Judge Trina Thompson ordered the Justice Department to stop demanding that California officials separate or withhold ballots.
• The ruling came after unions and other groups sued, accusing the administration of intimidating election workers.
• The restraining order expires Nov. 16, with the next hearing set for Nov. 13.

A California federal judge late Friday ordered the Justice Department to stop demanding that state and local election officials separate out ballots or not count certain votes from alleged noncitizens, and to stop threatening officials with criminal prosecution. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson followed a lawsuit filed a day earlier by labor unions and other groups accusing the Trump administration of intimidating California election workers and interfering in the midterms.

What the judge found

Thompson found that federal officials have likely violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965's prohibition on "attempting to intimidate, threaten or coerce" people who help others vote, and that the government was acting outside its legal or constitutional authority. She wrote that the actions, though described as aimed at halting unlawful voting by noncitizens, are likely to interfere with election administration and disenfranchise lawful voters.

The judge issued a temporary restraining order expiring Nov. 16 and scheduled the next hearing for Nov. 13. She also ordered the Justice Department to tell the court about any pending search warrant applications or subpoenas.

One of the hallmarks of a fair election is the freedom to exercise the right to vote free from threat, fear, or intimidation

— U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson

Earlier rulings and appeal

The lawsuit cited Justice Department Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon's July letters to all 50 states and Washington, D.C. threatening criminal prosecution of local election officials, and the department's demand for lists of voters it believes may be noncitizens. The Justice Department has pressed California this month to separate mail ballots for roughly 20,000 people it alleges are not U.S. citizens, and has issued grand jury subpoenas for officials in Los Angeles County.

Another California federal judge on Wednesday denied the Justice Department's request to compel the state to set aside more than 20,000 ballots for alleged noncitizens, finding it violates "longstanding constitutional principles" giving states authority over their own elections. The administration appealed, and an appellate court also rejected a request to segregate the ballots on Friday. CBS News has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.