US Judge Halts Noncitizen Voting Probe in Nine States

A federal judge in California has ordered the Trump administration to halt its noncitizen voting probe in nine states until polls close in the Nov 3 midterm elections, the Associated Press reported.

US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin in Oakland issued the ruling on Wednesday (Oct 21), but put it on hold until Friday (Oct 23) to give the administration time to appeal. It covers investigations in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin.

Judge Cites Error-Filled Voter Data

The case targets a Department of Homeland Security effort known as the Unlawful Voter Initiative, which involves Homeland Security Investigations task force officers. Its details surfaced last month when Democratic senators Chuck Schumer and Alex Padilla released a whistleblower report.

According to the AP, investigators were reportedly told to look at naturalised citizens to see whether they had voted before becoming citizens, using voter lists from state and local governments. A “surge” phase began in late August, with agents told to review each flagged person in no more than 12 minutes.

In her ruling, the judge said the effort relied on “data that is full of errors” and was intimidating groups that help people register and vote. She based the pause on a claim by the plaintiffs that the probe harms their voter assistance work, but did not find that union members’ own voting rights had been infringed, noting most of them vote by mail.

The lawsuit was brought by the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United, together with the Voto Latino Foundation, San Francisco and Santa Clara County. Their lawyer, Beau Tremitiere, said DHS had built its lists on bad data and sent agents to people’s homes weeks before an election.

DHS Defends Noncitizen Voting Probe

In an emailed statement on Thursday (Oct 22), DHS said it was focused on removing noncitizens who vote and dilute the votes of US citizens. The department added that it had no plans to question or investigate people it believes are citizens.

The ruling comes as the administration presses claims of noncitizen voting ahead of the midterms, although AP investigations have found such cases to be rare. Separately, the Justice Department has sued 30 states that refused to hand over unredacted voter roll data, and has so far lost each of those cases.

What Happens Next

Unless an appeals court steps in, DHS must pause the investigations in the nine states until polls close on Election Day. Early voting is already under way in several states, including Georgia.

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