{
  "id": 16989884,
  "title": "Judge says blocking 20k voters would 'wreak havoc'",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/judge-says-blocking-20k-voters-would-wreak-havoc",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-29T01:11:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Economic Times",
    "slug": "the-economic-times",
    "url": "https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/judge-denies-federal-request-to-block-20000-voters-says-it-would-wreak-havoc-on-us-midterm-elections/articleshow/135285373.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A US judge ruled against the Justice Department's attempt to temporarily block California from counting mail ballots for the November 3 midterm elections from over 20,000 registered voters on Wednesday. The decision, made by US District Judge David Carter in Los Angeles federal court, comes as President Donald Trump's administration seeks to expand the federal government's role in elections ahead of the midterms. The judge emphasized that the federal government never before in American history has sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own constitutional election procedures. The Justice Department filed the lawsuit on October 15, alleging that the individuals flagged on the list are likely noncitizens. California's officials argue that the data used by the Justice Department is suspect and that complying with their demands risks disenfranchising eligible voters. The judge warned that a ruling in favor of the Trump administration could cause chaos and permanently harm the nation's democracy by undermining trust in elections.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}