US judge limits election investigations in nine states
A federal judge in California restricted election-related Homeland Security operations involving people believed to be US citizens in nine states. The court cited unreliable voter-data matching and intimidation of union members helping voters. Implementation was delayed until October 23 to allow an appeal; the injunction runs until polls close, subject to a bond requirement and further court directions.
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The court limits field investigations
A US federal judge restricted noncitizen voting investigations in nine states.[1], [2]
Araceli Martínez-Olguín, a judge in the Northern District of California, issued the preliminary injunction on October 21. It concerns election-related field operations and interviews by the Department of Homeland Security, the US agency responsible for domestic security and immigration enforcement. The protected category includes people authorities know, suspect, or reasonably should know or suspect are US citizens. The restriction also covers operations likely to involve those people. It bars election-related operations against them based wholly on TECS database records generated by the voter-eligibility matching policy.[1]
Nine states and two enforcement conditions
The states are California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin. The judge delayed enforcement until Friday, October 23, to give the administration an opportunity to appeal. The injunction lasts until November 3 or the closing of polling places, subject to further court directions. Plaintiffs must post a 100 dollar bond by October 22; failure to do so dissolves the order. The court expressly preserved the federal government’s authority to investigate election offences through lawful means. The ruling is preliminary and does not decide every claim in the lawsuit.[1]
Voter-assistance groups describe intimidation
The plaintiffs include the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United, two nursing unions, alongside the Voto Latino Foundation, San Francisco and Santa Clara County. The judge accepted the unions’ standing on behalf of members assisting voters at this stage of the case. She relied on the Voting Rights Act’s protection against intimidation of people encouraging or helping others to vote. Declarations described members withdrawing from campaign activities and poll monitoring. The court identified unreliable target lists, similar names and outdated citizenship information as sources of error. Allowing at most 12 minutes per person during intensified reviews aggravated that risk. Homeland Security said on Thursday that it had no plans to question or investigate people it believed were citizens.[1]
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