Trump's DOJ appeals order shielding election workers from prosecution threats
A judge barred the threats through Nov. 16. DOJ went to the 9th Circuit three days before Tuesday's election.
The Trump Justice Department on Saturday asked a federal appeals court to throw out a judge's order that bars it from threatening election workers with prosecution over how they handle ballots, NBC News reported. The appeal went to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit three days before the Nov. 3 election.
U.S. District Judge Trina L. Thompson of the Northern District of California issued the temporary restraining order, a short-term emergency order, on Friday in a case known as SEIU v. DOJ. SEIU, AFSCME, the AFL-CIO, the NAACP and the League of United Latin American Citizens filed the suit Thursday, Democracy Docket reported. The order applies nationwide and runs through Nov. 16, CBS News and NBC News reported.
What the order blocks
DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security may not pressure election workers to stop processing a registered voter's ballot solely because the administration claims that voter is ineligible, or threaten them with prosecution over it. Thompson wrote that "high-ranking DOJ and DHS officials have engaged in a campaign to intimidate, threaten, and coerce state and local officials," NBC reported. She found the unions and civil rights groups likely to win under the Voting Rights Act's ban on intimidating people who help others vote, CBS News reported.
The order came after DOJ sent letters to 57 of California's 58 counties and demanded that California and Washington set aside thousands of ballots it claims came from noncitizens. Appeals courts have refused to pull the California ballots.
DOJ's objection
A department spokesperson complained that Thompson ruled before the government could respond and called that "a two-track system of justice," CBS reported. Thompson explained why in the order: ballots were already being processed, and "the Court sees no reason to delay its ruling," she wrote, Democracy Docket reported. She set a full hearing for later.
What's next
As of Monday morning, the 9th Circuit had not ruled on the appeal, and no reporting showed DOJ asking it to pause the order before Tuesday. Until an appeals court acts, election workers counting ballots are protected from those threats. Thompson's hearing on a longer-lasting order is set for Nov. 13.
Read our story on Thompson's order.
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