Federal Judge Blocks Trump Admin’s Noncitizen Voting Probe Across 9 States/ NEWSLOOKS/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to pause noncitizen voting investigations in nine states until polls close on Nov. 3. The judge found that unreliable data and rushed reviews risked errors and intimidated citizens participating in election activities. She delayed the order’s effect until Friday to allow an appeal, while Homeland Security defended its enforcement efforts.
Quick Look
- Temporary halt: The order pauses the investigations until polls close on Election Day.
- Appeal window: The judge put the ruling on hold until Friday.
- Nine states covered: California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin.
- Data concerns: The judge described the voter lists as unreliable and found a high risk of errors.
- Rushed reviews: Agents were instructed to assess flagged individuals in no more than 12 minutes each.
- Intimidation finding: The judge said fears of investigation discouraged campaign participation and poll monitoring.
- DHS response: The department said it does not plan to investigate people it believes are U.S. citizens.
Deep Look
Judge Orders Pause in Nine-State Voting Investigation
A federal judge in Oakland, California, ordered the Trump administration to halt investigations into whether noncitizens are registered to vote in nine states, finding that the effort relied on error-prone information and intimidated people involved in election activities.
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin issued the ruling Wednesday, directing that the investigations stop until polls close on Nov. 3.
She temporarily put the order on hold until Friday to give the administration an opportunity to appeal.
The ruling covers California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin.
Court Finds Voter Lists Unreliable and Reviews Rushed
Legal filings showed that investigators were instructed to examine naturalized citizens to determine whether they had voted before becoming U.S. citizens.
The lists came from sources including state and local governments and publicly available information. Martinez-Olguin described them as “voluminous and unreliable.”
“Even under the best conditions, there is a high likelihood of error in review because there is no federal database containing citizenship status of U.S. residents,” she wrote. “The time limitations implemented during the Surge further exacerbate the risk of error.”
During a heightened investigative phase beginning in late August, agents were directed to spend no more than 12 minutes reviewing each flagged person’s eligibility to vote.
Judge Says Investigation Discouraged Election Participation
The lawsuit was brought by the California Nurses Association, National Nurses United, the Voto Latino Foundation, San Francisco and Santa Clara County.
The plaintiffs said some U.S. citizens believed they had been wrongly identified and investigated.
Martinez-Olguin found that those concerns “are well understood as intimidation” and had discouraged people from attending campaign events and serving as poll monitors.
Beau Tremitiere, an attorney representing the unions and voter group, welcomed the ruling.
“It was clear from the start that DHS built its lists on bad data, never checked how often it was wrong, and recklessly sent agents to people’s homes weeks before an election,” he said.
Homeland Security Defends Enforcement Effort
The Department of Homeland Security defended its investigation in an emailed statement Thursday.
It said its focus was “removing aliens who vote and dilute the votes of U.S. citizens.”
“We have no plans to question or investigate people we believe to be U.S. citizens,” the department added.
The administration has portrayed noncitizen voting as a significant concern ahead of the midterms. However, such voting is rare, including according to findings from the administration’s own investigations.
Voter Roll Demands Draw Separate Court Challenges
The Justice Department has sought detailed, unredacted voter registration records from states and sued 30 that refused to provide them. According to the AP report, the department had lost each case decided so far.
Martinez-Olguin noted that when states declined to share records, the administration sought information through “unreliable commercial versions of voter roll data.”
Those sourcing problems formed part of her concerns about the accuracy of the investigation.
Whistleblower Report Revealed Initiative
Details of the investigation, called the “Unlawful Voter Initiative,” emerged last month after Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla released a whistleblower report.
Wednesday’s ruling temporarily limits the initiative in the nine named states during the final stretch of the election. Its implementation remains subject to the appeal opportunity the judge provided.
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