A federal judge ruled Friday that the Trump administration must stop what she characterized as a campaign of “intimidation, threats, and attempts at coercion” aimed at state and local election workers.

In an eight-page order, U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, said officials at the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security had issued threats that were “interfering with the lawful administration of elections.”

Thompson’s assessment largely mirrors the allegations made in a 46-page complaint filed earlier this week by labor unions representing election workers who say they have been targeted.

“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 lawsuit filed by the Service Employees International Union and other labor groups states.

The case, brought in the Northern District of California, centers on the administration’s handling of a list containing roughly 20,000 California residents identified as “likely noncitizens.”

The Justice Department separately sued over the list, triggering a series of court battles that have continued throughout October, as Law&Crime previously reported. That effort suffered another setback recently when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit rejected the administration’s position for the second time in two weeks.

The SEIU lawsuit details the administration’s actions in broad terms while also pointing to specific incidents.

The complaint states:

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 seeking a temporary restraining order filed one day later, SEIU cited the judge in the earlier case, who said the government had “reiterated its threat in open court yesterday” and declared that “these threats must stop.”

“The threats have not stopped,” the plaintiffs argued in their motion.

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“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 filing states. “Defendants further expanded the scope of their threats, sending election officials in all fifty states threatening letters warning them of potential prosecution.”

With Election Day approaching and millions of ballots already cast, Thompson concluded that immediate action was necessary to halt the government’s alleged campaign.

“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 states. “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.”

According to Thompson, “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 judge pointed specifically to letters sent by the government to election officials and employees in California. Those notices allegedly warned that workers could face criminal prosecution under an aiding-and-abetting theory if they processed ballots cast by voters the government considered unlawfully registered.

The order says similar letters were sent to election officials and workers in both California and Washington state.

For Thompson, the legal question presented a straightforward concern.

“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 states.

Thompson concluded that the DOJ and DHS had likely violated the Voting Rights Act, the Elections Clause of the Constitution, and the Fifth and Tenth Amendments.

In granting the requested injunction, the court prohibited the DOJ and DHS from issuing additional threats or demands requiring officials to separate ballots cast by suspected noncitizens. The agencies must also inform anyone who received a formal threat that the court has barred those actions.

The post ‘Attempts at coercion’: Trump admin must stop ‘unprecedented and unlawful’ campaign threatening election workers who are legally counting ballots, court rules first appeared on Law & Crime.