Justice Department Appeals Judge's Order Barring Prosecution Threats Against Election Workers

The Justice Department has appealed a federal judge's order that bars it from threatening state and local election workers with criminal prosecution for processing the ballots of registered voters the department says are ineligible, according to court records reviewed by The Digital Free Press.

U.S. District Judge Trina L. Thompson of the Northern District of California issued the temporary restraining order on Oct. 30 in a case brought by the Service Employees International Union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the League of United Latin American Citizens and the NAACP. The defendants are the Justice Department, Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

The department filed its notice of appeal to the Ninth Circuit on Saturday, Oct. 31. The one-paragraph notice, signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Kao, does not state the grounds for the appeal. In a notice filed the evening the order issued, the department said it was weighing two options: asking Thompson to dissolve or modify the order, or appealing. It asked that any motion be decided "immediately."

The James R. Browning U.S. Court of Appeals Building in San Francisco, home of the Ninth Circuit. (Photo: Historic American Buildings Survey/Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

What the Order Requires of the Department

Thompson granted the order without notice to the government, finding that "immediate and irreparable injury" could occur before the department could be heard. She wrote that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their claim under Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act, which bars intimidating, threatening or coercing anyone for voting or for helping others vote.

The order bars the department from demanding that officials remove specific registered voters, refuse them ballots or set aside their ballots "solely on the basis" that the department alleges they are ineligible. It also bars threats of prosecution against workers who process or count ballots under state and federal law. Thompson wrote that such workers "do not violate federal criminal law even if a particular ballot belongs to a registered voter alleged by Defendants to be ineligible to vote."

The order also requires the department to notify every state or local government that received one of its letters that the demands have been enjoined, and to inform the court of any pending search warrant applications or grand jury subpoenas tied to its lists. It expires at 5 p.m. on Nov. 16. The department's response is due at noon Monday, and a preliminary injunction hearing is set for Nov. 13.

What Election Workers Told the Court

According to the order, the department sent letters on Oct. 13 asking California and Los Angeles County to set aside the ballots of about 20,000 registered voters it believes are "likely" noncitizens, then sued when they refused. The order says letters warning election workers of prosecution were delivered to counties across the state on Oct. 23 by armed Homeland Security officers.

In a sworn declaration, San Benito County Clerk-Recorder Francisco Diaz said two officers carrying Homeland Security badges came to his office that day with a list of "suspected noncitizens" and a copy of the department's lawsuit against Los Angeles County. Diaz wrote that he understood the visit "as an effort to intimidate me."

The department has said in related cases that its letters identify possible violations of the federal ban on noncitizen voting and are not binding on states.

Sources: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Service Employees International Union, AFL-CIO et al. v. U.S. Department of Justice et al., No. 3:26-cv-12800-TLT: Order Granting Temporary Restraining Order, ECF No. 26 (Oct. 30, 2026): https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.482447/gov.uscourts.cand.482447.26.0_1.pdf ; Defendants' Notice of Intent to Seek Relief from TRO, ECF No. 30 (Oct. 30, 2026): https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.482447/gov.uscourts.cand.482447.30.0.pdf ; Notice of Appeal, ECF No. 31 (Oct. 31, 2026): https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.482447/gov.uscourts.cand.482447.31.0.pdf ; Declaration of Francisco Diaz, ECF No. 29-5: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.482447/gov.uscourts.cand.482447.29.5.pdf ; docket: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/75045414/service-employees-international-union-afl-cio-v-united-states-department/ ; Defendants' Response, DSCC v. Trump, No. 1:26-cv-3674 (D.D.C.), ECF No. 25 (Oct. 28, 2026): https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.297829/gov.uscourts.dcd.297829.25.0.pdf . Cover photo: Phillip Burton Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse by Marincyclist via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.