Melgren ordered the commission to carry out “forthwith without further delay” his March 19 directive. The judge wrote that the commission and its supporters had not shown that the public interest is best served by suspending his ruling.

“Public interest is best expressed through laws enacted by the public’s elected representatives,” Melgren wrote in a nine-page ruling. “The people of Arizona and the representatives of Kansas have decided that the public interest of their residents is in preventing voter fraud and protecting public confidence in the integrity of their elections.”

…Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach told The Associated Press said it’s significant that the judge found that the harm to Kansas and Arizona outweigh the alleged harm to the federal agency.

“It is shocking that the federal government waited 49 days and refused to comply with a federal court order,” Kobach said. “The rule of law requires parties to comply with a federal order. Here we have the federal government thinking it can defy a federal court order.”