Full appeals court to rehear case on Trump administration election worker threats

The full 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted late Monday to rehear the Trump administration’s appeal of a lower court order that blocked it from threatening election workers with criminal prosecution if they do not set aside ballots suspected to have been cast by noncitizens.

The decision came hours after a divided three-judge panel lifted a restraining order issued by U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson, allowing the Justice Department to resume its demands to states.

Chief Judge Mary Marguia, an Obama appointee, wrote in a late-night order that the panel’s decision was vacated after a majority of the court’s nonrecused active judges voted to rehear the case en banc.

Two labor unions and political-interest groups sued the Trump administration last week after the Justice Department sent letters to California and Washington requesting the states check their voter rolls for potential ineligible voters and sequester those mail ballots until citizenship status can be........

© The Hill