California Election Workers Receive Federal Grand Jury Subpoenas as the Justice Department Presses Its Noncitizen-Voting Fight
At least four California election employees have been subpoenaed in the past week, CalMatters reported. DOJ says a subpoena does not make someone a target. A federal judge this week told officials to stop any threats to election staff.
The Justice Department is widening its dispute with California over suspected illegal voting, Fox News reports.
The subpoenas. Fox says DOJ leadership has directed top federal prosecutors to pursue criminal subpoenas of local and state officials. CalMatters reported that at least four California election workers have received federal criminal grand jury subpoenas in the past week, at least one of them delivered Thursday. A subpoena to three employees of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's office asked for records on how the department keeps noncitizens from voting, along with records "which tends to indicate an alien has voted in a federal election." An Orange County official got a similar subpoena, local media reported.
The timing. The Thursday delivery came after a federal judge rejected DOJ's request that California set aside mail ballots tied to more than 20,000 registered voters whose citizenship the administration has questioned. "This court believes it would be wise that any threats to state or county employees cease immediately," the judge said in court, and he wrote in Wednesday's decision, "These threats must stop."
DOJ's answer. Spokeswoman Kiersten Pels said getting a subpoena does not mean a person is a target and that the department generally does not subpoena targets. She said the judge explained that voting unlawfully carries criminal exposure, and that California's own filing said criminal prosecution is the remedy. DOJ still holds that a civil remedy is available, she said, but "all agree that noncitizen voting is properly addressed through criminal law." She declined to comment on the "alleged grand jury subpoenas."
The limits. Fox notes the administration has found a number of noncitizens registered to vote in federal elections but has not yet proven widespread illegal voting. DOJ has appealed the ruling, and many of the ballots in question were already cast and made anonymous by early voters, which Fox says makes them nearly impossible to identify. The governor's office did not respond to Fox's request for comment.
Note for readers: the subpoenas themselves are reported secondhand; DOJ did not confirm them. Our earlier stories on the judge's ruling and the Ninth Circuit fight are on the site.