Judge bars DHS door-to-door voter checks of citizens in nine states until Election Day

A federal judge ruled late Wednesday that the Department of Homeland Security's practice of knocking on doors to ask people about their immigration status, and whether they have voted in recent elections, likely violates the Voting Rights Act ¹. The ruling comes less than two weeks before the November 3 midterm election.

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin ordered immigration authorities to stop "elections-related field operations and field interviews" if they are likely to involve people officials "know, suspect, or should reasonably know or suspect are U.S. citizens" ¹. The order covers nine states: California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin ².

What the judge found

The judge sided with the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United, which sued over the effort ¹. She found the policy likely runs afoul of a Voting Rights Act section that makes it illegal to "intimidate, threaten, or coerce" people who help others vote or take part in voter mobilization ¹.

She also pointed to a "high likelihood of error" in how the government built its list of targets, which uses data from government agencies and commercially available sources ¹. The judge did not bar all such investigations. She wrote that the plaintiffs do not claim, and the court does not find, that it is unlawful for federal officials to investigate unlawful voting ¹.

Plaintiffs do not claim, nor does the Court find, that it is unlawful for federal officials to undertake investigations into unlawful voting in federal elections

The government's case and the numbers

The Trump administration says the door-knocking is part of a crackdown on voting by noncitizens. Critics say it could intimidate legal voters ¹. Homeland Security Investigations has posted photos and videos of agents approaching homes in multiple states ¹.

At a hearing, Justice Department attorney Kelsey Helland said the plaintiffs had no evidence of specific citizens being interrogated. She called any intimidation "ancillary intimidation that rises out of that" and "a minor aspect of lawfully investigative actions" ².

The plaintiffs' lawyer, Geoffrey Curfman, said federal agencies advertised that they were looking into 300,000 people for voting-related misconduct but prosecuted 130 ². He said the government first claimed 190,000 people in California had engaged in unlawful voting activity, then lowered that to 20,000, and the investigations led to one indictment ².

The Justice Department says only 156 people have been charged with voting-fraud offenses since this administration began ¹. It also said earlier this week that it arrested 28 people in California suspected of registering to vote or voting before becoming naturalized citizens ². Those are allegations, not convictions.

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

What happens next

The order stays in effect until polls close on Election Day, but the judge paused it until 5 p.m. Friday to give the government a chance to appeal ¹. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment ².

That matters because a knock at the door from a federal agent can discourage people from voting, even if they are citizens with every right to do so. The pattern here, according to the plaintiffs, is large lists, flawed data and very few cases ². The next move is up to the appeals court.

The Record

1. Oct 19, 2026The Justice Department said it arrested 28 people in California suspected of registering to vote or voting before becoming naturalized citizens ².
2. Oct 21, 2026Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin issued a preliminary injunction limiting DHS election-related field operations in nine states ¹².
3. Oct 23, 2026The judge's order is paused until 5 p.m. Friday, giving the government time to seek an appeal ¹.

Sources

1. CBS News, “Judge curbs DHS efforts to conduct sweeps for possible noncitizen voters” (2026-10-22). cbsnews.com/news/judge-dhs-noncitizen-voters-ruling/
2. Courthouse News Service, “Judge curtails DHS crackdown on 'unlawful voters' during midterm elections” (2026-10-21). courthousenews.com/judge-curtails-dhs-crackdown-on-unlawful-

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