Trump wins Election Day court battle over ballot demands, poll worker threats
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A worker handles ballots at the Orange County Registrar of Voters Facility on October 28 in Santa Ana, California. Photo: Apu Gomes/Getty Images
A federal appeals court tossed another judge's order Tuesday blocking Trump administration officials from threatening state or local election workers and demanding they set aside certain ballots.
The big picture: The case is just one in a cascade of legal battles playing out on the sidelines of Election Day as the Trump administration seeks to root out alleged fraud in an election that will determine his last two years in office.
Driving the news: A majority of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit voted Tuesday to reverse U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson's block on the Trump administration.
- Tuesday's order reinstated a ruling granted by a smaller panel of judges.
What's inside: Thompson's order barred federal pressure to sideline ballots based solely on allegations of ineligibility and blocked administration officials from threatening state and local officials with criminal prosecution for failing to comply with its demands.
- She also found that the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security likely violated the Voting Rights Act's prohibition on voter intimidation and exceeded their constitutional authority over elections, Axios' Andrew Pantazi previously reported.
- But a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit found that the administration's letters represented "core Executive functions that did not actually disturb the states' regulation of their own elections," granting the government's motion for a stay.
Catch up quick: Unions representing election workers and civil rights organizations kicked off the fast-moving legal whiplash by filing their complaint Thursday.
- They alleged that DOJ and DHS officials "engaged in a coordinated campaign to intimidate, threaten, and coerce state and local officials and employees," pointing to the DOJ ordering prosecutors to pursue criminal subpoenas amid a ballot battle with the state of California.
- The suit also cited letters sent to election officials in California and Washington over ballots they alleged were sent to possible non-citizens.
Worth noting: The Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration's request to mandate that California separate ballots of more than 20,000 voters the government suspects are "likely" non-citizens Monday night, dealing the administration a significant blow in its pre-election legal blitz.
- Another key legal battle is playing out to the north over the closely watched Alaska Senate race.
