Judge curbs Trump administration's noncitizen voting probes
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A person fills out their ballot during the first day of early voting for the midterm elections in Minneapolis on Oct. 16. Photo: Tim Evans/AFP via Getty Images
A federal judge restricted DHS investigations into suspected noncitizen voting in nine states, citing concerns that the agency's tactics could intimidate eligible voters.
Why it matters: With the midterms less than two weeks away, the ruling curtails a central part of the Trump administration's efforts to investigate suspected noncitizen voting.
Driving the news: The ruling blocks election-related field operations and interviews under the government's Unlawful Voter Initiative that involve or are likely to involve U.S. citizens.
- California-based District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín also blocked the administration from conducting operations against likely citizens in those states relying on records generated by its voter-matching policy.
Zoom in: Martínez-Olguín wrote in her Wednesday order that the groups that sued provided "substantial evidence" that the government's "intimidating conduct" was "directly interfering with their members' right to encourage voters to participate in the 2026 midterm elections."
- Her order stated that DHS had compiled a "target list" of individuals from a variety of sources, including state voter rolls and commercial data.
- But Martínez-Olguín cast doubt on the accuracy of the administration's data, warning of a "high likelihood of error in review because there is no federal database containing citizenship status of U.S. residents."
- Court filings indicated that officers were ordered to prioritize probes in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin.
Catch up quick: Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and Alex Padilla (Calif.) released a whistleblower report last month alleging that officials had diverted fraud and national security personnel to the Unlawful Voter Initiative using "highly questionable data" and methods.
- The whistleblower disclosure alleged that officers were directed, in violation of state law, to access sensitive voter information under minimal training and significant pressure.
The other side: "DHS is laser focused on identifying, prosecuting, and removing aliens who vote and dilute the votes of U.S. citizens," a spokesperson told Axios in a statement, adding that the department has "no plans to question or investigate people we believe to be U.S. citizens."
- Responding to the nonprofits and local government entities that sued, the administration argued in court that DHS "reasonably decided to make use of the best data it had available to it to perform its law enforcement role, notwithstanding that the information may not be perfect in all cases."
- They also contended that the allegations of voter intimidation were too vague.
- The White House referred Axios to DHS for comment.
Zoom out: Courts have repeatedly blocked the Trump administration's attempts to obtain state voter data, but the administration has pursued suspected noncitizen voting — which is rare — through other means.
- Last week, the administration sued California and election officials over claims that suspected ineligible voters received mail-in ballots for the election, asking a court to delay about 20,000 voters from having their ballots counted.
- But as Axios' Brittany Gibson notes, administration-created lists of potential noncitizens on voter rolls have been found less than accurate before, including in Nevada.
What we're watching: The administration faces continuing legal challenges to its election-related initiatives ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms.
- On Tuesday, Democratic groups sued the government, accusing it of using unfounded fraud claims as a cudgel to insert itself in administering elections.
Go deeper: Trump's October barrage
