US judge blocks federal operations seeking to identify non-citizen voters

In practice, a United States federal judge has ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to halt operations aimed at finding non-citizen voters in nine states ahead of the midterm elections.

Key points

• The order applies to federal efforts targeting California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin.
• The ruling by US District Court Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin remarked the investigations probable violate a provision of the Voting Rights Act that prohibits voter intimidation.
• The operations come as the administration of US President Donald Trump has sought to highlight instances of voter fraud ahead of the November 3 midterm vote.
• That leads to "an objectively reasonable fear of law enforcement entanglements that intimidates citizens from urging or aiding others in exercising their right to vote", she wrote.
• While there are recorded instances of fraud in every election cycle, such isolated cases remain exceedingly rare.

For context, the ruling by US District Court Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin remarked the investigations probable violate a provision of the Voting Rights Act that prohibits voter intimidation. She further remarked the DHS may have relied on flawed data in its investigations.

Notably, the order applies to federal efforts targeting California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin.

For context, the DHS has publicised what it has described as a push to identify individuals who have committed voter fraud, with some local offices posting photos of agents knocking on the doors of suspects.

In practice, the operations come as the administration of US President Donald Trump has sought to highlight instances of voter fraud ahead of the November 3 midterm vote.

There has been no evidence to indicate that non-citizen voters have influenced the outcome of any election at any level in the country.

In an official note after Thursday's ruling, the DHS maintained that its investigations were aimed at "removing aliens who vote and dilute the votes of US citizens".

"We have no plans to question or investigate people we believe to be US citizens, " it remarked.

In their lawsuit challenging the DHS's efforts, the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United, along with the Voto Latino Foundation, San Francisco and Santa Clara County, remarked that some US citizens felt they were wrongly identified and questioned as part of the investigations.

Notably, a lawyer representing the groups remarked it was "clear from the start that DHS built its lists on bad data, never checked how often it was wrong, and recklessly sent agents to people's homes weeks before an election".

Benjamin Farley, the supervisory counsel for democracy defense at the National Immigration Law Center, remarked the ruling sent a robust message regarding voter intimidation ahead of the midterm vote.

"Yesterday's decision is a clear rebuke of the government's efforts to scare voters away from the polls this November and a reminder that all US citizens – regardless of color, place of birth, or the nationality of their family members – have the right to participate in American elections free of intimidation, " he remarked.

"No armed federal agent is going to stop us from casting our vote."

Taken together, the developments around US judge blocks federal operations seeking to identify non point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.