California Election Officials Describe Toll of Justice Department Threats as Judge Issues Restraining Order

The Trump administration's legal threats have had profound consequences for their mental health and their ability to do their jobs, California election officials said in court papers filed on Friday. In the filings the officials described the threats as a source of personal anxiety and a distraction from their work.

As part of its criminal investigation into the state's voter rolls, the Justice Department this week issued grand jury subpoenas to local election officials in California.

Matt Morales, the top election official in Santa Clara County, said in the court documents that 'the federal government's conduct has had and continues to have a severe chilling effect on my staff and me.'

In Contra Costa County, registrar Kristin Connelly said she feels 'deeply frustrated and stressed because of having to spend so much energy on responding to this threat.'

San Benito County Registrar Francisco Diaz said that when Homeland Security officials delivered a letter threatening him with prosecution last week, he 'felt fear and anxiety.' Diaz said, 'I did not know whether I might be arrested or what might happen next. I had to make an emergency plan for how my office would run if I were not there. That was not a scenario we had planned for. Having to think about it made the anxiety worse, including thinking about notifying my parents and my wife.'

The declarations were filed as part of a bid to encourage a federal judge to halt the Justice Department's threats, and they are the first extensive commentary from local election leaders since the department warned them of criminal liability.

On Friday, US District Judge Trina Thompson temporarily blocked the Justice Department from threatening state and local election officials. The temporary restraining order, running through November 16, was issued in a lawsuit filed late Thursday by a coalition of civil rights groups and labour unions, including one that represents election workers in California.

In her eight-page order the judge wrote that the Justice Department 'shall not threaten, intimidate or coerce state or local elections officials or workers to demand that they halt processing the ballots of any registered voter solely on the basis that the ballot belongs to an individual alleged by the department to be ineligible to vote.'

The officials warned that the interference could also prevent election offices from performing their duties. Morales said training for election workers and volunteers had to be updated to address de-escalation and safety protocols in case of disruption by law enforcement or federal agents in or around a vote centre. Several officials feared volunteers and staff would quit, making accurate vote counting harder. Connelly said she is 'horrified at the prospect that my staff may leave their positions because of these threats.' Diaz said four of their poll workers did not report to work on Friday, and that additional stress and anxiety could have contributed to the absences.

The administration has not immediately commented on the court filing. The Justice Department previously said in a statement that it would not comment on the grand jury subpoenas, but that while it 'maintains that a civil remedy is still available, all agree that noncitizen voting is properly addressed through criminal law.'