Federal Threats to Ballots Shadow No Kings Rallies

The Trump administration sued California election officials and threatened local ballot workers with possible prosecution as No Kings rallies urged people across the country to vote early in the midterms. Rallygoers called on voters to use the ballot, while federal officials sought to block some mail ballots and warned the people who process votes that criminal investigation could follow.

Who Gets to Count the Vote

Filed Thursday, the administration’s lawsuit asks a judge to bar California from counting midterm mail-in ballots from people the federal government has identified as “likely” noncitizens until officials confirm their immigration status. The request would put ballots on hold based on the government’s designation while that confirmation is pending. The article doesn’t name the people whose votes could be affected, and it doesn’t present the administration’s claim about their status as a confirmed finding.

On Friday, the Justice Department warned local officials who process and tabulate ballots submitted by suspected noncitizen voters that they risk criminal investigation and potential prosecution. Federal law enforcement now looms over the people responsible for handling ballots. The warning came as rallies urged voters to participate in the election, not as a neutral footnote to that appeal.

Trump has long been suspicious of mail voting and has claimed without evidence that voting fraud cost him the 2020 presidential election. The administration’s California lawsuit now targets ballots it says come from people likely to be noncitizens. The claim and demand go together: officials want a judge to prevent those ballots from being counted until officials confirm immigration status.

A Call to Use the Power

At the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, signs carried the rally message in plain language: “VOTE EARLY” and “HANDS OFF MY VOTE!” A band played for what appeared to be a few hundred people wearing caps and coats. Despite chilly weather, many danced. The gathering was one of hundreds of planned events organized by the No Kings network, which opposes President Donald Trump.

In Atlanta, City Councilman Michael Julian Bond urged the crowd to get others to vote before the Nov. 3 general election. “The Constitution gives you one power, right? That is the power to vote. Are you gonna use that power?” he asked. Bond turned to superheroes to make his case: “You don't see Superman giving up his power,” he said. “You don't see Black Panther giving up his power. You don't see Wonder Woman giving up her magic lasso. So why would you give up your right, your power, your obligation to vote? Be a super hero, use your power. Go to the polls and vote.”

Organizers billed the rallies as nonpartisan and sought to build on No Kings marches and demonstrations by people upset with Trump’s presidency. The network’s public appeal centered on voting: do it early, and urge others to do the same. That appeal unfolded alongside a federal lawsuit seeking limits on which mail ballots California may count and a Justice Department warning aimed at local officials who handle them.

Ballots, Officials and Federal Pressure

Three Democratic senators—Alex Padilla of California, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Dick Durbin of Illinois—wrote to Attorney General Todd Blanche on Friday. They demanded that the Justice Department commit not to seize ballots or other election materials before officials certify the midterm elections. Their letter adds another institutional demand, but the article reports no commitment from the department.

The rallies asked people to use the power Bond described. The lawsuit asks a judge to stop California from counting a category of mail ballots, while federal prosecutors have warned local ballot workers of possible criminal consequences. Voters and election officials now face the consequences of decisions made by government institutions above them.