Federal Judge Issues Order Halting Justice Department's Demands to California Election Officials

A U.S. District Judge in California has issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Justice Department from demanding that state and local election officials segregate or not count ballots from alleged non-citizens. The order also bars the Justice Department from threatening officials with criminal prosecution if they do not comply. This ruling comes just days before the November 3 midterm elections and follows a federal appeals court's earlier refusal to order California to set aside over 20,000 mail-in ballots, which the Trump administration had alleged were sent to non-U.S. citizens.