Federal-state clash over election administration reaches court

A federal judge issued a temporary 14-day order barring Trump’s Justice Department from coercing Washington state to exclude roughly 400 flagged voters’ ballots; officials said the list included people ineligible for ballots or who had proved citizenship. A parallel California case and legal analysis of the Purcell principle broaden the questions about federal actions, court intervention, and election-related confusion. The Nov. 18 hearing will test the order’s durability; proposed congressional remedies remain uncertain.