Judge Thompson Issues TRO Barring DOJ and DHS From Ballot Demands and Prosecution Threats Against Election Officials

On October 30, 2026, U.S. District Judge Trina L. Thompson granted a temporary restraining order in Service Employees International Union v. Department of Justice, No. 3:26-cv-12800 (N.D. Cal.). She found defendants “likely violated Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act” and wrote that their actions are likely “to have the effect of interfering with election administration and disenfranchising lawful voters.”

The order says defendants shall not “threaten, intimidate or coerce state or local elections officials or” workers to halt processing a ballot solely because defendants allege the voter is ineligible. They may not demand that an official “remove specific” voters from the rolls, “refuse to issue ballots,” or “segregate or otherwise not count any ballots” on that basis, or threaten officials “with criminal” prosecution over those demands or over counting under state and federal law. Defendants must tell any jurisdiction that received such a letter that its demands and threats “have been enjoined,” and DOJ must tell the court of “any pending search warrant applications, grand jury subpoenas” or similar demands tied to such a list.

The order expires at 5:00 p.m. on November 16, 2026. The government’s response on a preliminary injunction is due by noon on Monday, November 2, 2026, with a hearing set for November 13, 2026. The same day, defendants filed notice that they intend to seek relief “by tomorrow, October 31, 2026,” either by moving “to dissolve or otherwise modify the” order or, in the alternative, to “notice an appeal” to the Ninth Circuit.