US judge bars justice dept from threatening election officials

A US federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Justice Department from threatening state and local election officials with criminal prosecution. According to Malay Mail, Judge Trina Thompson of the Northern District of California ruled that officials and workers shall not be threatened, intimidated, or coerced into halting the processing of ballots for registered voters based solely on allegations of ineligibility.

The order follows a lawsuit brought by civil rights groups, labor unions, and unions representing California election workers. The Hill reports the decision was a response to Trump administration efforts to crack down on alleged non-citizen voting. Malay Mail notes the ruling serves as a setback to administration efforts to restrict voting by individuals the administration claims might not be US citizens ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria, Punch, Malay Mail, The Vibes, The Hill — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.