Justice Department Subpoenas California Election Officials in Noncitizen Vote Probe
Federal grand jury subpoenas target local clerks as the administration seeks to validate claims that 20,000 noncitizens are registered to vote.
By Ricardo Alvarez ·
The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into alleged noncitizen voting in California, issuing federal grand jury subpoenas to local election officials across the state. A U.S. official confirmed the move on Thursday, marking the latest escalation in the federal government’s effort to prove that as many as 20,000 noncitizens remain on California’s voter rolls. The number of subpoenas sent and the specific recipients have not been made public.
The subpoenas arrived the day after a federal judge denied the Trump administration’s request to segregate 20,000 mail ballots from the alleged noncitizens. The ruling called into question the accuracy of the administration’s process for identifying those voters. Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder and County Clerk Dean Logan praised the decision on Thursday, stating that election officials are acting in accordance with state and federal law. "At every step, the U.S. Department of Justice has taken a confrontational, adversarial approach," Logan said, noting that clear court rulings have confirmed the officials’ actions.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the subpoenas but affirmed that federal courts have established that voting unlawfully results in criminal exposure. The official emphasized that receiving a subpoena does not mean a person is a target of the investigation, only that they may possess relevant information. The department rarely subpoenas individuals it intends to charge with crimes.
This week’s subpoenas follow a series of letters sent last week to 57 of California’s 58 counties. The letters warned local election officials to cooperate with federal investigations into illegal voting or face investigations of their own. The Justice Department expanded these efforts to Washington state, where it asked the secretary of state to review a list of 400 registrants believed to be noncitizens and sequester any ballots they cast.
The administration has faced legal setbacks in this campaign, with an appeals court denying its request on Monday to block California from counting mail ballots from the alleged noncitizens. A federal judge also rejected the request to segregate those ballots on Wednesday. The Justice Department has pressured state officials for months, suing 30 states and the District of Columbia for refusing to hand over voter registration list data.
Election experts note that while noncitizens can appear on voter rolls, it is rare, and newly naturalized citizens are often mistakenly flagged due to the lack of a comprehensive list of U.S. citizens. The administration’s lawsuits have drawn criticism for relying on legal arguments that experts describe as flimsy, particularly regarding the department’s authority to intervene in election certification.
The investigation continues as the Justice Department pursues its goal of identifying and removing alleged noncitizens from the rolls in California and other states.
