A federal judge in Oakland, California, on Oct. 21 barred the Department of Homeland Security from carrying out election-related field operations and interviews in nine states through Election Day if those operations are likely to involve people officials know, suspect, or should reasonably know or suspect are U.S. citizens^1,2,3.

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin, sitting in the Northern District of California, found the government's approach likely violated a Voting Rights Act provision that makes it illegal to intimidate, threaten or coerce people who vote or who help others vote^1,3.

The states named in court documents and reporting are California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin^1,2,4.

The judge stayed the order until 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, to give the government time to seek an appeal^2,3. KIRO 7 reported the limits then run until 8 p.m. on Nov. 3 or until polls close in those states⁴.

CBS News described Homeland Security Investigations agents approaching homes and asking about immigration status and whether people had voted³. The judge wrote that plaintiffs were not claiming it is unlawful for federal officials to investigate unlawful voting in federal elections³.

Martinez-Olguin pointed to a high likelihood of error in how the government assembled target lists from agency and commercial data³. KIRO 7 reported she said the department often relies on proxy databases because no federal database tracks individuals' citizenship status⁴.

The lawsuit was brought by San Francisco, Santa Clara, the California Nurses Association, National Nurses United and the Voto Latino Foundation, with Protect Democracy among the litigators^1,2. An Aug. 31 HSI memo filed in court described a September surge that included field interviews in several of the named states¹.

At an earlier hearing, a Justice Department attorney argued that sharing data between agencies and deploying agents were lawful investigative steps and that any intimidation was at most a minor, ancillary effect, Courthouse News reported². Homeland Security said Thursday it has "no plans to question or investigate people we believe to be U.S. citizens"¹.

Whether the government appealed after the stay lifted, and how much of the campaign the order actually constrains, was not established in the accounts reviewed^1,3.