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A federal judge on Friday temporarily barred the Trump administration from threatening election workers with criminal prosecution over ballots linked to suspected non-citizens.
U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson ruled that the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security likely violated the Voting Rights Act’s ban on voter intimidation by threatening election workers with lawsuits for processing ballots from voters the administration claims were ineligible, just days before the midterm elections.
“One of the hallmarks of a fair election is the freedom to exercise the right to vote without threat, fear or intimidation,” Thompson, a Biden appointee, wrote in the eight-page order.
The move comes as the Trump administration has asked states for voter registration information ahead of the Nov. 3 election, arguing its efforts were aimed at preventing non-citizen voting and protecting election integrity.
BIDEN-APPOINTED JUDGE BLOCKS VOTER FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS IN BATTLEGROUND STATES DAYS BEFORE THE MIDTERM
Election workers sort ballots during early voting ahead of the midterm elections at City Hall in San Francisco, California, October 21, 2026. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The temporary restraining order prohibits federal officials from threatening, intimidating or coercing state and local election officials into stopping the processing of ballots solely because the administration alleges that certain registered voters are ineligible.
The order also prohibits the administration from requiring election officials to remove registered voters from the voter rolls, refuse to issue them ballots, or segregate or refuse to count their ballots based solely on these allegations.
The lawsuit was brought by unions and civil rights organizations, including the Service Employees International Union and the NAACP.
“Because the public has a paramount interest in ensuring that election officials and workers are able to perform their jobs in accordance with federal law and election procedure, and because official Election Day is only days away, the balance of actions and the public interest weigh in favor of plaintiffs,” Thompson wrote.
“The ballots have already been cast,” Thompson also noted. “Americans have already started voting.”
NINTH CIRCUIT QUESTIONS TRUMP DOJ’S EMERGENCY REQUEST TO CANCEL 20,000 MAIL-IN BALLOTS IN CALIFORNIA
President Donald Trump’s administration has been temporarily barred by a federal judge from threatening election workers with criminal prosecution over ballots linked to suspected non-citizens. (Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Thompson also ordered the administration to notify state and local governments that received the disputed letters that the demands and threats of lawsuits contained in them have been blocked.
Earlier Friday, a federal appeals court separately ruled against the Trump administration’s emergency request to force California to void mail-in ballots associated with about 20,000 federal voters identified as likely noncitizens while their citizenship status was verified.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Justice Department’s request to throw out disputed absentee ballots while officials reviewed voters’ citizenship status, dealing another setback to the administration just four days before Election Day.
Fox News Digital has contacted the Justice Department for comment.
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An election official sorts ballots during early voting, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in Portland, Maine. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP)
Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Reuters contributed to this report.
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