Judge Limits Voter Investigations in Nine States Over Faulty Data

A federal judge has ordered limits on voter investigations in nine states after finding that unreliable government data was putting U.S. citizens at risk of being swept into the Trump administration’s crackdown. The dispute reaches beyond an incorrect entry in a database: agents were using the lists to question people about their eligibility to vote.

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin issued the preliminary injunction October 21 in Oakland. Her order is scheduled to take effect October 23, subject to its bond requirement and any intervening court action.

The affected states are California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin. Those are the states identified in DHS’s August 31 surge guidance for intensified field investigations, according to the order.

Faulty records became field-investigation leads

The government assembled voter information from official rolls, commercial records and other sources, then compared biographical details to identify people for further investigation. Citizenship and Immigration Services personnel screened names, birth dates, addresses and other identifiers to try to remove citizens from the lists.

The order describes weaknesses at both stages. Some source records were unreliable, while similar names, incomplete files, clerical mistakes and outdated citizenship information could produce errors during matching. Investigators were also under pressure to complete at least 40 subject reviews a day.

Outdated citizenship information can leave a naturalized citizen looking like a noncitizen in an older record. That is one of the error sources the court identified, alongside mismatched identities and incomplete files.

The records could become leads in TECS, a DHS information-sharing system. Field interviews were then used to resolve discrepancies in the underlying information. That sequence put the burden of a database problem into an encounter with an investigator.

Why voter-assistance groups went to court

The judge found that the challenged operation likely violated the Voting Rights Act’s protection against intimidation of people urging or helping others to vote.

The case includes National Nurses United and the California Nurses Association, whose members help encourage election participation. Their concern was that eligible citizens would pull back from that work because they feared being wrongly investigated themselves or exposing family members to enforcement encounters.

CNN reported that the court found the government’s flawed information could sweep in citizens and intimidate people involved in helping others vote. The order treated those fears as reasonable in the context of the operation and its publicity, rather than requiring an organization to wait until the election was over to seek relief.

The government defended its authority to investigate unlawful voting. DHS told the Associated Press, “We have no plans to question or investigate people we believe to be U.S. citizens.”

Martinez-Olguin’s restriction also addresses what officials should reasonably know or suspect. Covered field operations involving possible citizens cannot proceed simply because agents rely on the disputed records. Lawful investigations of unlawful voting remain available.

The order has a short, consequential timetable

The injunction requires a $100 bond by 5 p.m. October 22 and says it will dissolve if that condition is missed. It is stayed until 5 p.m. October 23 to allow a challenge, and is scheduled to last through November 3 at 8 p.m. or the close of Election Day polling places, unless the court directs otherwise.

For the organizations bringing the case, the timetable covers the final days of voter registration, encouragement and assistance. If the bond and stay conditions are met and no further court action changes the order, the restrictions would limit covered field investigations through Election Day.

References: Order Granting Motion for Preliminary Injunction, Document 87, October 21, 2026 | Federal judge orders Trump administration to halt noncitizen voting investigation in 9 states | Judge curbs Trump administration’s hunt for noncitizen voters in some states, citing flawed data