A federal appeals court has paused the order that kept the Trump administration from pressing election officials over ballots cast by voters the government suspects are noncitizens. In a 2 to 1 ruling late on Monday, hours before polls opened, the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Justice Department’s request to put the lower court’s decision on hold while the appeal proceeds.
US District Judge Trina Thompson had ruled on October 30 that the administration’s demands and warnings of prosecution could violate the Voting Rights Act prohibition on intimidating election workers, in a case brought by labour unions and civil rights groups. The appeals majority held that the government could likely make such requests without requiring states to comply. Chief Judge Mary Murguia dissented, arguing that threats of prosecution could coerce officials into abandoning lawful election procedures.
The pause is not the whole legal picture for today’s count. A separate injunction issued on Monday by US District Judge James Boasberg still bars federal demands that California officials set aside ballots or depart from state procedures based on the government’s suspected noncitizen lists, and the appeals ruling did not require any state to set ballots aside. Earlier on Monday the Supreme Court rejected the administration’s separate request to force California to set aside ballots linked to roughly 20,000 voters, a decision covered in Monday’s edition.
The practical effect is a split regime on election day: federal requests and warnings may resume in most states under the paused order, while California counting proceeds under its own injunction. Any attempt to act on the resumed authority during the count is the trigger to watch.