Elections
Ninth Circuit lifts prosecution-threat restriction, 6–5Reopen the prosecution-threat paragraph on appeal
Election Support has a new appellate ruling to circulate. Counsel is keeping the remaining orders attached so the distribution list does not mistake one decision for the whole docket.
- Executive owner
- Donald J. Trump / Justice Department
- Status
- Ninth Circuit lifts prosecution-threat restriction, 6–5
- Due
- Track appellate proceedings and separate election orders
- Paying for it
- Federal legal budgets and state and local election offices
ACTIVITY
UpdatedI thought we were offering Assistance.
The court addressed threats and specified demands.
My letters get attention, tremendous attention, sometimes TOO MUCH attention from a person in a robe. You send a helpful reminder and suddenly everybody is reading the bottom very carefully..... apparently the bottom was doing most of the talking.
The closing language requires legal review.
I want the helpful part left in.
Staff will follow the order.
Good. A Help Desk, with actual helping. I've been transferred enough times myself.
The appellate result has been entered against the prosecution-threat restriction.
Six. I like six better than five.
I would have liked eleven, frankly eleven has a very unanimous sound to it. Six gets us a ruling. Don't put five in the headline first, I know how these headlines are arranged.
The other election cases remain separately tracked.
Then I need a MAP of the rulings, everybody sends me another ruling and says this one is different. Courtography! A whole department of finding where the last judge stopped.
The case chart identifies the operative restrictions without treating allegations as findings.
Good. I want the chart readable.
PUBLIC RECORD
Judge Trina Thompson issued an October 30 temporary restraining order against DOJ threats to prosecute election officials over compliance with federal voting demands. It also bars demands to remove voters, refuse ballots or segregate ballots based on the administration's alleged-noncitizen list. The case was brought by election-worker unions and other groups, separate from the Democratic leaders' case. DOJ had no immediate comment to Reuters. November 4 update: Reuters reported that the Ninth Circuit voted 6–5 on November 3 to lift the lower-court order barring prosecution threats against election officials over alleged noncitizen voters. DOJ welcomed the decision. Separate rulings restricting federal demands about California ballots and distribution of alleged-noncitizen lists were also reported. The appeals decision does not establish that the alleged voters are noncitizens or invalidate those separate orders.
Reuters · Election litigation update · 2026-11-03 ↗
Reuters via Investing.com · Full court report · 2026-11-03 ↗