Advocacy Groups Sue to Block 400 Washington Ballots From Being Set Aside
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 31
Advocacy Groups Sue to Block 400 Washington Ballots From Being Set Aside
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 31
Summary
Late Friday, immigrant advocacy groups sued in federal court in Seattle to stop the Trump administration from pressuring Washington election officials to withhold ballots from nearly 400 residents suspected of being noncitizens.
The suit targets a Monday letter from federal prosecutors to Secretary of State Steve Hobbs and a follow-up warning from a senior Justice Department official that mishandling ballots could be a federal crime.
The groups argue the administration’s voter list is unreliable and that its prosecution warnings are unlawful intimidation, citing past errors in identifying registered voters as noncitizens.
The Washington case follows a broader push against state election officials: an appeals court on Friday again blocked the administration’s bid to sideline more than 20,000 California ballots.
Also late Friday, a federal judge in San Francisco barred the Justice Department from threatening state and local election workers over ballot processing and set a hearing for Monday.