Judge blocks Trump effort to tie anti-terror funds to election rules

A federal judge struck down the Trump administration's effort to withhold anti-terror grant funding from states and localities that did not adopt new election restrictions. U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ruled that the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA likely violated federal law by conditioning 20 percent of a $1 billion Homeland Security Grant Program on requirements including running voter rolls through a DHS immigration database, changing election equipment, and altering ballot and audit procedures. Ali ruled in favor of Nashville and Davidson County in Tennessee, Harris and El Paso Counties in Texas, and Columbus, Ohio, all of which had sued the Trump administration over the conditions last month.¹

What this means for voters

The judge ruled that the Trump administration likely violated federal law by conditioning the grant funding on new election restrictions.¹