California judge bars criminal threats against election officials
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Vanguard
A California federal judge has temporarily barred the US Justice Department from threatening criminal prosecution against election officials who refuse to suspend the counting of ballots cast by registered voters. The order targets pressure on local authorities ahead of the 3 November midterm elections, according to Reuters.
California federal judge Trina Thompson on Friday barred the US Justice Department from threatening election officials with criminal prosecution if they refused to suspend the processing of ballots. Her temporary order targets pressure over registered voters whom the Trump administration suspects are not US citizens, Vanguard reports.
The decision also bars federal authorities from requesting the removal of specific people from voter rolls, refusing to give them a ballot or demanding that their votes not be counted solely on the basis of allegations of ineligibility. It was issued following a complaint by unions and civil rights organisations against the Justice and Homeland Security departments.
The order expires on 16 November, after the US midterm elections scheduled for 3 November. The judge believes the plaintiffs are likely to prevail and described threats against election officials as unlawful and arbitrary. On Wednesday, another federal judge rejected the department’s request to set aside the ballots of more than 20,000 California voters suspected of not being citizens.
Friday’s decision expands the judicial restrictions imposed on the administration’s initiatives concerning California’s election. On 29 October, a judge had already blocked the exclusion of 20,000 votes in California.
