Federal judge bars Trump administration from intimidating midterm election staff

A federal judge has prohibited the Trump administration from coercing, threatening, or intimidating election workers ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, finding that federal officials had engaged in pressure tactics targeting state and local authorities.

In an eight-page ruling issued Friday night, U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson in California put an immediate stop to federal attempts aimed at halting the counting of votes. The mandate specifically bars any actions that "threaten, intimidate or coerce state or local elections officials or workers to demand that they halt processing the ballots of any registered voter solely on the basis that the ballot belongs to an individual alleged by [the administration] to be ineligible to vote."

The temporary restriction is scheduled to remain in place through Nov. 16, extending nearly a fortnight beyond Election Day on Nov. 3.

Judge Thompson found that senior representatives within the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security had carried out an organized push aimed at poll administrators across the country. In her ruling, Thompson stated that high-ranking officials from both agencies had engaged in a concerted effort to intimidate and pressure individuals charged with conducting the 2026 midterms.

The dispute arose following federal demands that certain states, including California and Washington, segregate and review ballots that the administration asserted might have been cast by noncitizens. Earlier in the week, a federal appeals court ruled against the administration's stance regarding California's processes, while a related legal challenge involving Washington remained unresolved.

Addressing the government's justification for its interventions, Judge Thompson concluded that the administration's conduct risked disrupting the voting process rather than safeguarding it. She wrote that while federal defendants argued their steps were intended to prevent unlawful noncitizen participation, their approach was instead prone to meddling with election administration and suppressing legitimate voters.

The ruling comes during the final days of early voting, as local jurisdictions across the country process millions of ballots leading up to Tuesday's election. Neither the Justice Department nor the Department of Homeland Security immediately announced whether they would seek an emergency stay of the judge's directive.