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Monday, November 2, 2026

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Every claim traces to a primary source. Uncertainty is labeled. Corrections are public.

Elections · Monday, November 2, 2026

Judge sets hearing and lists errors in election order

The File desk · Nov. 2, 2026, 6:37 a.m. ET

Confirmed4 primary sources

Status

Confirmed. On November 1, 2026, the government asked Judge Trina L. Thompson to pause the October 30 temporary restraining order in case . She set a hearing for Monday, November 2, at 11:00 a.m. in San Francisco and filed questions that say the order contains errors. The questions do not themselves pause the order.
  • Confirmed
    The docket sets the hearing on the government's motion to stay the order for Monday, November 2, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. The entry does not name a time zone.
  • Confirmed
    Document 37 says the October 30 order went out before all exhibits were on the docket, granted administrative-procedure relief without the analysis, and was set to expire in 17 days rather than 14.
  • Confirmed
    The docket copy opened on the morning of November 2 did not include an order granting the stay, and it did not include the government's noon response on the longer injunction.
Judge Trina L. Thompson set a hearing for Monday, November 2, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. in San Francisco on the government's request to pause the order that bars federal threats against election workers. The same night she filed questions that say her October 30 order contains errors.1
The government filed the request on November 1, after the October 31 appeal The File reported on Sunday. The motion, in case , asks her to stay the temporary restraining order pending appeal, or to treat the request as a motion to dissolve under and issue only an indicative ruling. An indicative ruling would tell the appeals court how she would decide the request without undoing the order herself while the appeal is pending. The docket stamps do not name a time zone.2
A text-only docket entry signed November 1 puts the hearing in Courtroom 09 on the 19th floor. It says the court must "hear and decide the [Defendants' pending] motion as promptly as justice requires."1
Why it matters (Estimate). Estimate. Election Day is November 3, and the October 30 order still tells federal officials to leave state and local election workers to their own rules. The hearing is the first court date on whether that command is paused. What the judge does at 11:00 a.m. decides whether the command stays in place while ballots are processed. The entry does not name a time zone for that clock.
The questions, Document 37, say the case began on October 29, "five calendar days prior to the election," and that the court "acknowledges some errors" in the October 30 order. The order went out before all of the plaintiffs' exhibits were on the docket. It gave relief under the Administrative Procedures Act without an analysis of that claim. And "the TRO was set to expire 17 days, rather than 14 days, from issuance." The questions do not themselves pause the order. On the docket copy this desk opened on the morning of November 2, no later entry granted the stay. The government's papers on the request for a longer order were due at noon on November 2; that response was not in the copy.3
How we know

Notes

  1. 1.CourtListener docket, Service Employees International Union v. United States Department of Justice, Case No. . Text-only entry 35, filed November 1, 2026: a hearing on the motion to stay the temporary restraining order, ECF 33, is set for Monday, November 2, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. in San Francisco, Courtroom 09, 19th Floor, before Judge Trina L. Thompson. The entry quotes on hearing the motion promptly. There is no document associated with the entry. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/75045414/service-employees-international-union-afl-cio-v-united-states-department/ Sunday story: /story/ndcal-election-worker-tro-oct30
  2. 2.Defendants' ex parte motion to stay the temporary restraining order, Document 33, filed November 1, 2026. The CourtListener stamp reads 10:08 a.m. The motion asks the court to stay the order pending appeal or, in the alternative, to treat it as a motion under and issue only an indicative ruling. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.482447/gov.uscourts.cand.482447.33.0_1.pdf
  3. 3.Questions for the Hearing, Document 37, filed November 1, 2026, re docket 33. The CourtListener stamp reads 9:34 p.m. The questions say the case commenced on October 29, 2026, five calendar days prior to the election, and that the court acknowledges some errors in the October 30 order, including expiration in 17 days rather than 14 days from issuance. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.482447/gov.uscourts.cand.482447.37.0.pdf Plaintiffs' opposition is Document 36, filed November 1, 2026, stamp 6:09 p.m. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.482447/gov.uscourts.cand.482447.36.0_1.pdf

What is still unknown or disputed

  • Whether 11:00 a.m. and 10:08 a.m. are Pacific time. The entries do not say. The courtroom is in San Francisco.
  • Whether the judge paused the order at the hearing. This desk opened the docket on the morning of November 2, before 11:00 a.m., and did not open a later order.
  • Whether the government filed its noon response on the longer injunction after this desk's copy. It was not in that copy.
  • The transcript of any hearing. Document 37 is a list of questions, not a ruling.

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Docket, SEIU v. Department of Justice, 3:26-cv-12800

    CourtListener · November 1, 2026

    Entry 35 sets a hearing for Monday, November 2, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. in San Francisco on the motion to stay the October 30 order.

    https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/75045414/service-employees-international-union-afl-cio-v-united-states-department/

  2. Source 2

    Motion to stay the temporary restraining order, Document 33

    U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of California, via CourtListener · November 1, 2026

    The government asks the court to stay the October 30 order pending appeal or to issue only an indicative ruling.

    https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.482447/gov.uscourts.cand.482447.33.0_1.pdf

  3. Source 3

    Questions for the hearing, Document 37

    U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, via CourtListener · November 1, 2026

    The court says the October 30 order contains errors, including a 17-day expiration rather than 14 days, and lists questions for the hearing.

    https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.482447/gov.uscourts.cand.482447.37.0.pdf

  4. Source 4

    Opposition to the motion to stay, Document 36

    Plaintiffs, via CourtListener · November 1, 2026

    The plaintiffs opposed the request to stay the October 30 order. The docket stamp reads 6:09 p.m. on November 1.

    https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.482447/gov.uscourts.cand.482447.36.0_1.pdf