Order says local officials can’t be forced to separate or stop counting ballots that the government deems to be disputed

A federal judge has barred the justice department from threatening or coercing election workers to stop processing ballots.

The order issued late Friday also bars the justice department from demanding local election officials segregate or not count ballots that the federal government deems may have been cast by ineligible voters.

It marks another blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to assert control over local elections.

It comes after a federal appeals court on Friday rejected the justice department’s request for California to set aside disputed ballots received in the midterm election, the latest setback for the Trump administration’s efforts to assert control over state-run elections.