A federal appeals court on Nov. 3 reinstated a decision that stays a restraining order that had prevented U.S. officials from requesting states sequester ballots from suspected noncitizens and threatening officials with prosecution if they did not act.
The split ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit restored a Monday order from three judges on the court that granted the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal of the temporary restraining order previously entered by a federal judge.
That judge, Trina Thompson of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, said in her October order that the government appeared to be violating federal law by trying to intimidate election workers and interfere with election state administration….