Federal judge bars Justice Department from pressuring election workers to stop counting ballots

A federal judge has barred the Justice Department from threatening or coercing election workers to stop processing ballots, according to The Guardian ¹. The order, issued late Friday, also bars the department from demanding that local election officials segregate or not count ballots the federal government deems may have been cast by ineligible voters ¹.

The ruling is another setback for the Trump administration's push to assert control over state-run elections ¹. It came the same day a federal appeals court rejected the Justice Department's request that California set aside disputed ballots received in the midterm election ¹.

On tapeMS NOW · Oct 30

▶4:32

What the government wanted in California

The administration has alleged that California sent ballots to about 20,000 people who may not be U.S. citizens, and it wants the state to hold those ballots uncounted until citizenship can be verified ¹. California officials say the list is highly unreliable and most likely includes many people who are U.S. citizens ¹.

A district court judge forcefully denied that request on Wednesday and warned the demands could disenfranchise citizens ¹. In a 2-1 ruling Friday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel wrote that "there is no feasible way to identify and segregate the ballots of specific individuals without potentially catastrophic effects on the entire system" ¹. The majority opinion was authored by Judge Mark J Bennett, appointed by Donald Trump, and Judge Gabriel P Sanchez, appointed by former president Joe Biden ¹.

From Channel GOPOssoff on federal agents seizing Fulton County ballotsJon Ossoff · 154 plays · captioned, with the source named

In the earlier 26-page ruling, U.S. District Judge David Carter, a Clinton appointee, wrote: "Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch" ². He added: "Once a vote is segregated, lasting harm has occurred" ².

As the district court found – and we discern no clear error – there is no feasible way to identify and segregate the ballots of specific individuals without potentially catastrophic effects on the entire system

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, called the ruling an important victory, saying: "But this fight is not over. We will keep fighting to protect California's elections from unlawful federal interference and get this baseless lawsuit dismissed" ². Jonathan Miller, chief program officer at Public Rights Project, which is counsel for Los Angeles County, said: "Tonight's decision makes clear that the federal government's actions are election interference" ².

On tapeABC7 · Oct 29

▶2:25

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the appeals ruling, The Guardian reported ¹. In a statement about its efforts to root out noncitizen voting, it said: "Federal law prohibits noncitizens from voting. Enforcing that law is not an agenda item. It is the Department's job" ¹. The top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, has warned: "Any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy" ¹.

Why it matters before Tuesday

Millions of people have already voted in California in the midterm election that concludes on Tuesday, and hundreds of thousands of ballots have already been processed ¹. Elections officials have said processed votes cannot be matched back to the voters who submitted them ¹. The pattern is that courts are now the backstop between federal demands and the local counting of votes, with the election three days away.

The Record

1. Oct 15, 2026The Justice Department files its lawsuit in California over the 20,000-name ballot list ².
2. Oct 28, 2026U.S. District Judge David Carter denies the Justice Department's emergency request to segregate the ballots ².
3. Oct 30, 2026A federal appeals court rejects the Justice Department's request for California to set aside disputed ballots, and a federal judge bars the department from pressuring election workers to stop counting ¹.

Sources

1. The Guardian, “Federal judge bars DoJ from threatening election workers to stop processing ballots” (2026-10-31). theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/30/justice-department-elect
2. NPR, “Judge denies DOJ bid to stop processing California ballots : NPR” (2026-10-28). npr.org/2026/10/28/nx-s1-6021478/doj-california-ballots-deni

Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.