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Courts & Legal Status: 14-day TRO granted Nov. 5; hearing Nov. 18

Judge Whitehead Issues 14-Day TRO Barring DOJ From Compelling Washington to Set Aside Ballots

By AFNS Research Desk · · 1 min read

Old Federal Court House in Seattle (file image)
Photo: Jmabel / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)

Status: 14-day TRO granted Nov. 5; reported Nov. 6. Source: Courthouse News.

U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead (W.D. Wash.) partly granted a temporary restraining order in OneAmerica Votes v. DOJ, barring the Justice Department, Homeland Security, Attorney General Todd Blanche and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin from demanding that Washington set aside about 400 ballots of suspected noncitizens or threatening election officials who count them.

The court drew a key line: the government "may ask a state to set ballots aside, but it may not compel one to do so." President Trump is not covered by the order. Whitehead refused a stay pending appeal. A hearing is set for Nov. 18; counties certify by Nov. 24. Courthouse News notes the order creates a Washington-specific restriction after the Ninth Circuit's en banc court paused the nationwide order in SEIU v. DOJ.

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  1. Courthouse News: Feds barred from pressing Washington to toss voters ballots for now courthousenews.com

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