Judge Halts Trump Administration's Noncitizen Voting Probe

A federal judge in California has ordered President Donald Trump's administration to halt investigations in nine states into whether noncitizens are registered to vote. U.S. District Court Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin in Oakland ruled that the government's effort is relying on data full of errors and that it's leading to intimidation of groups performing voter assistance. She ordered the probe halted until polls close on Election Day, Nov. 3.

The ruling, made Wednesday, was put on hold until Friday to give the administration an opportunity to appeal. The investigations targeted are in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The Trump administration has been actively seeking out noncitizen voters in the months leading up to the midterm elections, signaling it as a significant problem. However, sources indicate that noncitizen voting is rare, a point even acknowledged in the administration's own investigations.

The lawsuit was filed by the California Nurses Association, National Nurses United, the Voto Latino Foundation, and the counties of San Francisco and Santa Clara. A request for comment to the Department of Homeland Security was not immediately returned.