Judge orders Trump administration to stop threatening US election officials

A federal judge has issued an order to halt the Trump administration's threats to local and state election officials over the processing of election ballots. The California judge ruled that the Department of Justice (DoJ) must cease demanding that officials set aside or not process certain ballots, which the Trump administration claims may have been cast by non-citizens.

This ruling comes days before the midterm elections, which will determine the control of the US Congress for the final two years of Donald Trump's presidency. Trump had criticized the ruling, questioning why the administration would reject efforts to address alleged election fraud. In California, the DOJ had sent letters to the state's Secretary of State and the Los Angeles County Registrar, requesting that they set aside the ballots of approximately 20,000 registered voters whom the Trump administration believed were likely non-citizens.

However, the county officials and employees refused to comply, stating that they must adhere to election procedures mandated by state and federal law. The judge deemed the demand as disruptive to the election process and ordered the administration to cease their actions. The DOJ was also reportedly conducting a criminal investigation into county election officials, issuing federal grand jury subpoenas.

Civil rights groups and unions representing election workers filed a complaint, alleging that the DOJ was interfering with their duty to administer the election. Judge Trina Thompson emphasized that the administration's actions were likely to interfere with election administration and disenfranchise lawful voters. The Trump administration sent similar letters to Washington state, demanding that the Secretary of State cease processing ballots of alleged non-citizen voters.

These actions are part of a longstanding campaign by Trump and his administration to address alleged voter fraud, despite evidence suggesting that such incidents are extremely rare. Ahead of the midterm elections on November 3rd, the president has questioned the security of the vote, alleging widespread cheating in mail-in voting and non-citizen voting.

He also offered a $1 million reward for reporting cases of voter fraud that result in a conviction. However, studies indicate that actual cases of non-citizen voting are exceptionally rare.