Judge Blocks DHS Voter Probes Across Nine States
Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin barred the Department of Homeland Security from conducting field interviews to investigate noncitizen voting in nine states ahead of the midterm elections.
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin ruled Wednesday that the Department of Homeland Security must stop conducting door-knocking and field interviews to investigate immigration status and voting plans. The injunction applies to operations in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin. The judge found the government relied on error-prone data and determined that the public interest in elections free from intimidation outweighs the government's interest in combating unlawful voting.
The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by the California Nurses Association, National Nurses United, the Voto Latino Foundation, and the counties of San Francisco and Santa Clara. They alleged the Unlawful Voter Initiative was designed to intimidate voters. The order is stayed until Friday at 5 p.m. EDT to allow for a potential appeal; otherwise, it remains in effect until the November 3 Election Day.
Parallel legal battles continue in California, where the Department of Justice is suing to force the segregation of 20,000 flagged ballots. Los Angeles County election officials admitted in a federal filing that they cannot independently verify the citizenship of these voters beyond their own attestations. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli called this a massive concession, while Governor Gavin Newsom's office maintains the state complies with federal law by relying on sworn statements. Separately, federal agents arrested 28 foreign nationals in California on Monday for fraudulent voter registration.
