Judge blocks Trump from tying anti-terrorism grants to election changes

A US judge has halted the Trump administration's attempt to tie counterterrorism funds to changes in election administration. The ruling by US District Judge Amir Ali prevents the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from withholding a portion of grants related to terrorist attack preparedness unless states and local governments adopt election measures favored by the administration.

This move comes as Republicans fight to maintain their congressional majorities ahead of the November 3 midterms. The Department of Homeland Security had planned to withhold 20 percent of funding, amounting to about US$1.1 billion, if states and local governments did not implement election reforms such as requiring hand-marked paper ballots, manual audits of ballots, and comparisons of voter rolls to a DHS database to ensure no non-citizens are registered to vote.

The judge ruled that the conditioning of these funds exceeded FEMA's authority and that the grant programs were not designed for election security reforms. The ruling marks another setback for President Donald Trump in his efforts to increase federal control over elections. Trump has previously claimed widespread voting fraud in US elections, an assertion that independent studies and audits have consistently debunked as false.