Federal judges block Trump administration’s election interventions in California

In the days leading up to Tuesday’s midterm election, federal courts in California issued a series of rulings that halted the Trump administration’s attempts to intervene in the state’s voting process. The decisions blocked efforts to force local officials to set aside ballots, shielded election workers from criminal threats, and restricted door-to-door immigration enforcement.

U.S. District Judge Trina L. Thompson granted a sweeping order on late Friday that barred the administration from demanding poll workers set aside ballots from voters whose eligibility was questioned. The order also protected those workers from criminal sanctions if they refused such demands. Thompson noted that ballots had already been issued and that Americans had begun voting. She wrote that the consequences of inaction provided no reason to delay the ruling.

This decision followed three other rulings that blocked the administration’s bid to immediately set aside the ballots of 20,000 voters whom the Justice Department alleges may be noncitizens. In those cases, judges set a schedule for further fact-finding after polls close rather than halting the count immediately. The administration had previously sent subpoenas to Los Angeles County elections officials, calling them to testify before a grand jury. A separate ruling in Washington, D.C., required the administration to share its list of alleged noncitizen voters with advocacy groups. Data analysts from the UCLA Voting Rights Project stated that their review of that list found extensive errors, including citizens and thousands of people not on the California voter roll.

The full U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled on late Friday not to reconsider a decision that barred federal immigration agents from conducting door knocks and street stops in California and eight other states. That initial ban was issued by U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguin in Oakland. The 9th Circuit majority, which included one Trump appointee and one Biden appointee, agreed that the risk of disenfranchisement outweighed the uncertain threat of noncitizen voting.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta praised the rulings, calling the administration’s efforts unlawful. He stated that Trump was racking up loss after loss as the election neared. Sen. Alex Padilla told voters not to be intimidated, noting that states, not the president, run elections. April Verrett, president of the Service Employees International Union, said the order blocked the administration’s attempts to bully election workers.

The administration’s legal team had pushed for rapid rulings by appealing cases before district courts finished their reviews. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter had earlier ruled that voters meeting California’s registration requirements should not be deprived of their rights based on unfounded allegations. When the administration appealed that decision, the 9th Circuit panel rejected it, citing legally flawed arguments and unconstitutional executive authority.

Following the latest rulings, the administration missed a deadline to request that the three-judge panel’s ruling be revisited by the full appellate court. It did not immediately appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, who had argued the case before Judge Carter, remained silent and did not respond to requests for comment.