法官命令川普政府停止威脅起訴選務官員

文：Kanishka SinghBy Kanishka Singh

華盛頓，10月30日（路透社）—— 美國一名法官週五命令司法部停止威脅起訴州和地方選務官員；這些官員未配合川普政府針對所謂非公民投票所提出的要求。WASHINGTON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - A US judge ordered the Justice Department on Friday to stop threatening to prosecute state and local election officials who do not comply with the Trump administration's demands related to voting by alleged non-citizens.

這項裁定出爐時，距離下週將決定國會控制權的美國期中選舉只剩數天。目前共和黨在眾議院和參議院都握有微弱多數。儘管數場關鍵選戰看來競爭激烈，民調仍看好民主黨奪回眾議院控制權，並讓他們有實際機會取得參議院多數。The ruling comes days before next week's US midterm elections that will determine control of Congress, where Republicans currently hold narrow majorities in the ⁠House of Representatives and Senate. Although several key races appear closely contested, polls favor Democrats to take control of the House and give them a plausible chance of a Senate majority.

在期中選舉前數月，總統唐納・川普（Donald Trump）政府對選舉監督採取強硬做法，例如施壓各州提供選民登記資料，並表示需要更嚴格措施來確保選舉安全與公眾對投票的信心。In the months leading up to the midterms, President Donald Trump's administration has taken an aggressive approach to election oversight, such as ⁠pressing states for voter-registration data, saying stricter measures are needed to ensure election security and public confidence in the vote.

但美國聯邦地區法官崔娜・湯普森（Trina Thompson）裁定，司法部本月威脅起訴不配合川普政府選舉相關措施的州與郡官員，已經做得太過火。這項裁定與選務人員工會及其他一些團體提出的訴訟有關。But the Justice Department went too far this month when it threatened to prosecute state and county officials who do not cooperate with the Trump administration's election-related initiatives, US District Judge Trina Thompson ruled in connection with a lawsuit brought by election workers' unions and some other groups.

湯普森在臨時限制令中寫道：「由於公眾對確保選務官員與工作人員能依照聯邦法律與選舉程序執行工作，具有至關重要的利益，而正式選舉日也只剩幾天，因此衡平因素與公共利益的權衡均有利於原告。」"Because the public has a paramount interest in ensuring that election officials and workers are able to carry out their work in accordance with federal law and election procedure, and the official day of the Elections is only a couple of days away, the balance of the equities and public interest weigh in Plaintiffs' favor," Thompson wrote in her temporary restraining order.

司法部未立即對這項裁定發表評論。The Justice Department had no immediate comment on the ruling.

包括政治專家以及民主黨與部分共和黨選務官員在內的批評者，將川普政府的行動視為聯邦政府越權。一些選務官員曾告訴路透社，他們正在為期中選舉可能出現的聯邦干預做準備。Critics, including political experts as well as Democratic and some Republican election officials, have viewed the Trump administration's moves as federal overreach. Some election officials have told Reuters they were preparing for potential federal interference in the midterm elections.

湯普森由前總統喬・拜登（Joe Biden）任命。她命令川普政府不得依據川普政府所列的所謂非公民選民名單，要求地方選務官員將選民從全州選民名冊中移除、拒收特定選民的選票，或將期中選舉中投下的選票分開處理。Thompson, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, ordered the Trump administration to refrain from demanding that local election officials remove voters from statewide rolls, refuse ballots to specific voters, or segregate ballots cast in the midterm elections, based on a Trump administration list of alleged non-citizen voters.

川普過去曾對選舉提出不實主張，包括不承認自己在2020年選舉中敗選。Trump has made false claims related to elections in the past, including not acknowledging his defeat in the 2020 election.

（Kanishka Singh華盛頓報導；Sergio Non與Tom Hogue編輯）(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Sergio Non and Tom Hogue)