The United States Department of Justice has ordered local election officials in California to appear before a federal grand jury on November 4 — the day after the midterm elections — as part of a criminal investigation into the state's voter rolls.
The latest round of subpoenas went out on Thursday, October 29, according to ABC News, which reviewed the documents. An earlier batch had been delivered between October 21 and October 24 to three officials at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's office, CBS News reported after seeing copies.
What the subpoenas ask for
The documents demand internal records and communications about federal requests sent to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber concerning noncitizen voting. They also ask the county to turn over its own procedures for "screening for unlawful voting by aliens," along with any evidence it has gathered on noncitizens on the rolls.
The earlier subpoenas sought the registrar's correspondence with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and with acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter. In a letter to Los Angeles officials, McCotter wrote that "noncitizen voting in a federal election is a federal crime," and that knowingly facilitating it is also unlawful.
A lost court fight came first
The criminal route opened after the administration lost in civil court. It had asked for an emergency order requiring California to set aside roughly 20,000 mail ballots belonging to people it described as "likely" noncitizens — a figure the administration says reflects noncitizens registered statewide.
U.S. District Judge David Carter, sitting in Los Angeles, refused on Wednesday. Allowing the ballots to be segregated would violate "longstanding constitutional principles" that leave the states in charge of running their own elections, he wrote. Addressing the government's warnings that local officials who did not comply could face charges, he wrote that "these threats must stop."
A Justice Department spokesperson told CBS News that criminal enforcement was the logical next step after that ruling, while maintaining that a civil remedy remains available. Asked about the subpoenas themselves, the department said it "does not comment on leaks about alleged grand jury subpoenas." It has also said that "all agree that noncitizen voting is properly addressed through criminal law."
The county's answer
Dean Logan, the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder and county clerk, said his staff is following the law. "Election officials are acting in accordance with state and federal law," he said in a statement. "Threats and intimidation have no place in elections."
Why the date matters
Polls close on Tuesday, November 3. A grand jury appearance set for the following morning would put officials from Los Angeles County — California's largest election office — in a federal courthouse while their own canvass is still under way, and while mail ballots postmarked by election day are still arriving.
Reporting from ABC News, CBS News and Democracy Now!
