A federal judge in the United States has told the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to suspend efforts to locate non-citizen voters in nine states ahead of the midterm elections. US District Court Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin issued the order, ruling that the investigations likely breach a Voting Rights Act provision that bans voter intimidation.
In her ruling, the judge also said DHS may have based its investigations on flawed data. She argued that the activity could leave citizens afraid of becoming entangled with law enforcement.
Judge cites intimidation risk and questionable data
According to the judge, the situation creates a reasonable worry about dealing with law enforcement, which discourages citizens from encouraging or helping others to vote. She wrote this in her decision.
The order applies to federal efforts targeting the following states:
- California
- Connecticut
- Georgia
- Missouri
- Nevada
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- Washington
- Wisconsin
DHS publicity and the administration’s fraud push
DHS has publicised what it calls a drive to identify people who have committed voter fraud. Some local offices posted photos of agents knocking on the doors of suspects.
The operations coincide with efforts by the administration of US President Donald Trump to highlight voter fraud before the November 3 midterm vote. While fraud is recorded in every election cycle, such isolated cases remain exceedingly rare.
No evidence has indicated that non-citizen voters have influenced the outcome of any election at any level in the country.
DHS rejects targeting citizens as lawsuit proceeds
In a statement issued after Thursday’s ruling, DHS said its investigations were aimed at “removing aliens who vote and dilute the votes of US citizens.” The department added: “We have no plans to question or investigate people we believe to be US citizens.”
In their lawsuit, the California Nurses Association, National Nurses United, the Voto Latino Foundation, San Francisco and Santa Clara County said some US citizens felt they had been wrongly identified and questioned. A lawyer for the groups argued that DHS built its lists on bad data, never measured how often those lists were wrong, and sent agents to people’s homes shortly before an election.
Benjamin Farley, supervisory counsel for democracy defense at the National Immigration Law Center, said the ruling sent a strong message about voter intimidation ahead of the midterm vote. He added: “No armed federal agent is going to stop us from casting our vote.”
