Key facts
- The appeals court halted the order barring demands that officials set aside ballots and threatening prosecutions.
- Judge Trina Thompson's order barred the Justice Department from threatening or coercing election workers processing ballots.
- The Justice Department said the judge ruled without hearing from the government and called it a two-track system of justice.
- The administration has alleged California sent ballots to about 20,000 people who may not be US citizens.
A US appeals court halted a judge's order that barred the Trump administration from demanding state and local officials set aside certain ballots and threatening criminal prosecutions before and after Tuesday's midterm contests, according to a report that did not date the ruling.
The underlying order was issued by US District Judge Trina Thompson in the northern district of California late on Friday. It barred the Justice Department from threatening or coercing election workers to stop processing ballots, and from demanding that local officials segregate or not count ballots the federal government deems may have been illegally cast by immigrants.
The order came the day after the Justice Department sent letters to election officials in all 50 states threatening to prosecute and jail any who failed to preserve ballot records. Thompson wrote that the department's "intimidation, threats, and attempts at coercion force election workers daily to choose between acceding to defendants' unlawful demands or adhering to their duties."
The Justice Department criticized the ruling, saying the judge issued it before the federal government had an opportunity to respond. "That is a two-track system of justice," a department spokesperson said, adding that it was reviewing the order and evaluating all options.
The case follows a separate ruling in which a federal appeals court on Friday rejected the Justice Department's request for California to set aside disputed ballots received in the midterm election. The administration has alleged California sent ballots to about 20,000 people who may not be US citizens; California officials say the list is highly unreliable.