The Justice Department is flouting a deadline to furnish a list of the tens of thousands of California voters they have sought to remove from the state's voter rolls, telling the court they view the order as a 'fishing expedition.'
A federal judge intends to rule Monday on the Trump administration's effort to pressure states to comply with its crackdown on alleged noncitizen voting.
It's an effort Democrats argue is a thinly veiled attempt to consolidate federal power over Tuesday's midterm elections, which will render the clearest verdict from voters to date on President Donald Trump's second White House term.
US District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration last week to provide the court with a list of states it has targeted with election-related demands, including voter registration information and ballot-counting practices.
But the DOJ ignored a Friday evening deadline to share information about the California voters it ordered state officials to remove.
That effort was blocked last week by a separate federal judge.
A coalition of Democratic Party officials and groups are seeking an emergency order to block the administration's actions, which they argue infringes on states rights to administer elections.
Voters in Sioux City, Iowa, are seen at a campaign rally in late October. Trump campaigned in the state as he seeks to shore up support for down-ballot Republicans ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media before boarding Air Force One
Voters cast their ballots at a polling station in October at a polling site in Anchorage, Alaska.
The efforts come amid mounting concerns that Trump is laying the groundwork for contesting the results of an election that may prove to be punishing for his party.
Trump administration officials have repeatedly argued the effort is merely an attempt to safeguard the election process and crack down on noncitizen voting - despite state audits and other reports that have shown instances of illegal noncitizen voting are incredibly rare.
Critics, meanwhile, have repeatedly argued the efforts are a thinly veiled attempt to federalize the election process - and lay the groundwork for potentially challenging the results of the midterms, in the event of a Democratic sweep.
The Trump administration has issued more than 100 subpoenas seeking voter information from at least 13 US states, Reuters reported last week - including information ranging from individual voting records to information about thousands of individuals.
The Justice Department sued the state of California and Los Angeles County previously to block the counting of ballots from more than 20,000 voters that it said it identified as 'likely noncitizens.' It also sued Washington state to block more than 400 registered voters for the same reason.
And it has joined a lawsuit seeking to block the certification of Alaska's election results should Mary Peltola, a Democrat, unseat incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan, a Republican.
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Trump took to social media last month to threaten California election officials with jail time, should they refuse to comply with requests for voter information - noting on Truth Social that the officials 'will all go to jail for a long period of time' if they decline to furnish the information sought.
The Justice Department last week sent letters to all states in the US 'reminding them of their obligation' to preserve voting records for 22 months, post-election.
The letters were signed by Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter and threatened election officials with 'up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine' should they fail to comply with the record-preservation law.
Combined, the actions represent an extraordinarily aggressive posture by the administration - and from the president himself, as he grapples with the possibility of a Democrat majority in one or both chambers of Congress.
Boasberg will rule Monday on how to proceed - though he stressed in court last week that Democrats may not yet have standing to sue over conduct that has not yet taken place.
Still, the information requested from the Trump administration could a new level of transparency detailing how, and where, the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security are seeking to apply pressure on states in the run-up to November 3.
In the meantime, other judges have issued stern warnings to the Trump administration over its language.
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On Friday, US District Judge Trina Thompson ordered the Justice Department not to 'threaten, intimidate or coerce state or local elections officials or workers to demand that they halt processing the ballots' it suspects may have been cast by noncitizens.
'One of the hallmarks of a fair election is the freedom to exercise the right to vote free from threat, fear, or intimidation,' Thompson said.
'Free exercise of the right to vote is a core tenet of our democracy. It requires safeguarding to ensure full participation and public trust in our elections,' she added. 'Election Day is around the corner. Ballots have already been issued. Americans have already begun voting. Workers have already begun processing ballots.'
'Given the consequences of inaction, the Court sees no reason to delay its ruling.'
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