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A federal judge has raised concerns about the Trump administration’s efforts to identify potential noncitizen voters, ordering a temporary halt to investigations across nine states ahead of November 3 midterm elections.
The Associated Press reported that U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, based in Oakland, California, determined that the government’s use of voter eligibility data contained significant errors and that the investigations were contributing to intimidation of groups that help voters.
The judge’s order, issued Wednesday (October 21), is intended to remain in effect through Election Day on November 3. However, she delayed its implementation until Friday (October 23) to give the administration an opportunity to appeal.
The states covered are California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin.
The ruling follows a CBS News investigation that found federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations have been visiting residents’ homes to ask about their immigration status and whether they registered or voted in past elections.
CBS News reported that the Department of Homeland Security has claimed as many as 250,000 noncitizens may be illegally registered to vote, a figure election experts have disputed.
The investigation also found that federal officials have been matching voter registration information with immigration records to identify potential suspects.
The AP reported that the lawsuit was brought by the California Nurses Association, National Nurses United, the Voto Latino Foundation, San Francisco and Santa Clara County. The plaintiffs challenged the federal government’s investigative efforts.
The administration has defended its efforts as necessary to investigate alleged election crimes. However, the allegations against people under investigation do not establish that they committed a crime.
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