Federal courts have blocked multiple aspects of the Trump administration’s campaign targeting states over alleged noncitizen voting.
Key details:
Trump’s fellow Republicans are battling to retain majorities in both houses of Congress.
The ruling marks the latest in a series of legal setbacks for President Donald Trump’s efforts to assert federal control over election administration ahead of the November 3 midterms.
Blocking data-sharing and pressuring tactics:
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan barred the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from sending states lists of registered voters derived from data that the court found potentially unreliable, noting a high risk of unlawfully disenfranchising eligible voters.
Protection for election officials:
A federal judge in San Francisco ordered the DOJ to stop threatening state and local election officials with prosecution if they did not comply with federal demands regarding alleged noncitizen voters.
Similar protections were granted via temporary restraining orders to prevent the federal government from coercing states into removing voters or withholding ballots.
Rejection of ballot segregation demands:
Federal judges—including U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington and judges handling challenges involving states like California—rejected administration requests to force states to set aside or segregate ballots cast by individuals flagged on federal noncitizen lists.
Courts reasoned that doing so late in the election cycle would disrupt ongoing voting, “wreak havoc,” and risk throwing out ballots cast by lawful U.S. citizens due to flawed data.
The administration has defended its actions as necessary enforcement of federal laws prohibiting noncitizen voting, but judges have repeatedly intervened, emphasizing that the administration’s methods risk severe voter disenfranchisement and violate structural boundaries regarding how elections are run.
