Judge Sooknanan Denies NAACP's TRO for DOJ Election-Monitor Records; DOJ Later Says Civil Rights Division Is Not Using Federal Law Enforcement Officers as Monitors on Election Day

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On Oct 22, 2026 (hearing and order date), Judge Sparkle Sooknanan denied the NAACP’s emergency motion for a temporary restraining order in NAACP v. Dhillon (D.D.C., FOIA suit seeking DOJ records on its election monitors). The parties’ joint status report says the court cited “among other things, its breadth” and directed the parties to confer on narrowing the request.

The plaintiff proposed production of narrowed categories by October 29, 2026; “Defendants declined the offer”, saying they did not anticipate finishing by then. The government’s stated position in the report: the jurisdiction list and prosecutor counts are likely exempt because “such information remains under deliberation”, and “CRT is not using federal law enforcement officers as election monitors on election day.” That is the government’s litigating position on one agency’s use of such officers on one day; the filing does not define the term.

This suit is separate from NAACP v. Blanche, which challenges the monitoring program under the Voting Rights Act and the APA.

Cite this entry

The Cascade Ledger. “Judge Sooknanan Denies NAACP's TRO for DOJ Election-Monitor Records; DOJ Later Says Civil Rights Division Is Not Using Federal Law Enforcement Officers as Monitors on Election Day.” The Capture Cascade Timeline, October 22, 2026. https://capturecascade.org/event/2026-10-22--dcd-denies-naacp-tro-dhillon-foia-election-monitors-records-sooknanan-doj-says-no-federal-law-enforcement-monitors-dcd-26-cv-03461/