'Attempts at coercion': Trump admin must stop 'unprecedented and unlawful' campaign threatening election workers who are legally counting ballots, court rules

The Trump administration has been engaged in "intimidation, threats, and attempts at coercion" against state and local election workers — and must now put an end to such behavior, a federal court ruled Friday.

In an eight-page order, U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson, a Joe Biden appointee, found that officials within the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have been making threats that are "interfering with the lawful administration of elections."

The court's estimation of the behavior more or less aligns with allegations outlined in a 46-page lawsuit filed earlier this week by several labor unions representing the threatened workers in question.

"This case involves unprecedented and unlawful threats by federal government officials to state and local election workers, which significantly risk interfering with the lawful administration of the ongoing 2026 midterm elections and the counting of ballots in accordance with federal and state law," the complaint filed by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and others begins.

The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California, focuses on actions the Trump administration has taken with regard to a list of some 20,000 California residents alleged to be "likely noncitizens."

The DOJ filed its own lawsuit over the list which has been making its way up and down the court system throughout the month of October, as Law&Crime previously reported. That earlier litigation recently hit a brick wall as the Trump administration was rejected by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit — for the second time in as many weeks.

The SEIU litigation takes stock of the Trump administration's efforts in both broad strokes and with more specific references.

From the complaint, at length:

These actions reflect a coordinated USDOJ and DHS plan months in the making, as those agencies obtained data from obscure and insecure sources, augmented and enhanced that data through analytics and commercially available AI of questionable reliability, and used that data to target election workers with real and tangible threats. This plan by USDOJ and DHS officials has manifested in targeting state and county election officials and employees with threats of criminal investigation and prosecution in order to coerce them into halting the processing and counting of ballots…

In a motion for a temporary restraining order filed the day after the lawsuit, the SEIU cites the judge in the earlier case noting that "the government reiterated its threat in open court yesterday" and saying, "these threats must stop."

"The threats have not stopped," the plaintiffs said in their motion.

"The very next day, October 29, 2026, it was reported that DOJ has directed federal prosecutors to pursue criminal subpoenas of state and local election officials," the motion goes on. "Defendants further expanded the scope of their threats, sending election officials in all fifty states threatening letters warning them of potential prosecution."

Now, the judge in the SEIU case has seemingly seen enough to try to put the kibosh on the government's campaign as Election Day fast approaches and millions of ballots have already been cast.

"One of the hallmarks of a fair election is the freedom to exercise the right to vote free from threat, fear, or intimidation," the order begins. "Free exercise of the right to vote is a core tenet of our democracy. It requires safeguarding to ensure full participation and public trust in our elections. Election Day is around the corner. Ballots have already been issued. Americans have already begun voting. Workers have already begun processing ballots. Given the consequences of inaction, the Court sees no reason to delay its ruling."

To hear Judge Thompson tell it, "high-ranking DOJ and DHS officials have engaged in a campaign to intimidate, threaten, and coerce state and local officials and employees who are engaged in administering the ongoing midterm 2026 election."

The court describes the particular government behavior at issue: "Defendants have delivered letters to officials and employees in California threatening criminal prosecution under an aiding and abetting theory against any election worker who processes the ballots of purportedly unlawful voters."

Such letters have been sent to workers and officials in both California and Washington state, the court notes.

And, to the judge, the issue is a relatively easy call.

"Although Defendants claim that their actions are designed to halt unlawful voting by noncitizens, their actions are likely to have the effect of interfering with election administration and disenfranchising lawful voters," the order goes on.

In turn, Thompson found the DOJ and DHS have likely violated the Voting Rights Act and the Elections Clause of the Constitution, as well as the Fifth and Tenth Amendments.

The court, in granting the injunctive relief, barred the DOJ and DHS from issuing further threats or demands to segregate suspected noncitizen ballots. The government must also notify people who have been formally threatened that those threats have been enjoined.