Judge blocks Trump push to flag suspected noncitizen voters
Why it matters: The order bars federal agencies from sending states voter lists or holding ballots aside until citizenship is proved.
A federal judge in Washington temporarily blocked the Trump administration from pressing states to single out registered voters it suspects are not citizens ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms. US District Judge Tanya Chutkan barred the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security from sending states lists of voters they say may be noncitizens, and from asking election officials to separate those ballots or leave them uncounted until citizenship is verified. Chutkan said the federal data may be unreliable, creating a risk that eligible voters could be disenfranchised. The ruling followed administration letters to officials in California and Washington and came after another judge in Los Angeles rejected a DOJ bid tied to more than 20,000 California voters.