US judge blocks federal operations seeking to identify non-citizen voters

Homeland Security targets nine states in a push to identify voting fraud, a move critics denounce as tantamount to voter intimidation.Published On 22 Oct 202622 Oct 2026A United States federal judge has ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to halt operations aimed at finding non-citizen voters in nine states ahead of the midterm elections.The ruling by US District Court Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin said the investigations likely violate a provision of the Voting Rights Act that prohibits voter intimidation. She further said the DHS may have relied on flawed data in its investigations.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Trump commits more than $400m ahead of high-stakes midterm electionslist 2 of 3Trump says AI data centres should pay ‘dividends’ in pre-midterm shiftlist 3 of 3Will Russia’s diesel shipment to the US lower prices before midterms?end of listThat leads to “an objectively reasonable fear of law enforcement entanglements that intimidates citizens from urging or aiding others in exercising their right to vote”, she wrote.The order applies to federal efforts targeting California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washin...