A federal judge in California has ordered the US government to stop threatening state and local election officials with criminal charges over their handling of election ballots allegedly linked to non-citizens.
The ruling prevents the Department of Justice (DoJ) from demanding that election authorities set aside or refuse to process ballots from voters whom the Trump administration suspects may not be US citizens.
The decision follows a dispute over letters sent by the Justice Department to California Secretary of State officials and the Los Angeles County Registrar earlier this month. The letters demanded that ballots belonging to about 20,000 registered voters be set aside because the administration believed they were likely non-citizens.
About a week later, armed Department of Homeland Security officials reportedly delivered further letters to county officials and employees across California, warning of possible criminal charges if the ballots were not sequestered.
Election officials and advocacy groups challenged the demands, arguing that they could not disregard established election procedures under state and federal law.
In granting the relief, the judge rejected the administration’s demands, warning that complying with them would “wreak havoc” in the election process.
The ruling comes just days before the US midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress for the final two years of President Donald Trump’s current term.
Trump criticised the decision on Saturday, questioning why the court would oppose efforts to address what he described as election fraud.
