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DOJ Issues Grand Jury Subpoenas To California Election Officials Over Voter Rolls
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DOJ issued grand jury subpoenas to California election officials over voter rolls Subpoenas targeted offices in Los Angeles and Orange counties
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Subpoenas After Judge
The Department of Justice issued grand jury subpoenas to local election officials in California as part of its criminal investigation into the state's voter rolls, with some Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder employees receiving subpoenas that demand testimony on Nov. 4.
U.S. District Judge David Carter rejected DOJ's push for an emergency order to have California segregate roughly 20,000 ballots belonging to individuals the Trump administration has claimed are "likely" noncitizens, writing, "Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government".
Dean Logan, the L.A. County registrar-recorder/county clerk, said in a statement that "Threats and intimidation have no place in elections," as the subpoenas escalated DOJ's clash with states over how elections are run.
DOJ spokesperson Kiersten Pels said in an emailed statement, "Receiving a subpoena doesn't mean you are a target," and the Justice Department added that the district court judge explained that voting unlawfully results in criminal exposure.
Federal prosecutors also issued subpoenas to Orange County's Registrar of Voters's office seeking unredacted voter records for 60 people, according to records obtained by CalMatters.
Threats, Testimony, Records
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter told the courtroom, "This court believes it would be wise that any threats to state or county (election) employees cease immediately," and CalMatters said the warning was formal in his written ruling issued Wednesday evening.
Dean Logan said prosecutors were taking a "confrontational, adversarial approach" and added, "Threats and intimidation have no place in elections," as his office confirmed subpoenas directed at employees.
The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's office received grand jury subpoenas ordering three employees to testify before a grand jury in a criminal investigation on Nov. 4, the day after the election, and the subpoenas demanded records of how the department prevents non-citizens from voting.
In Orange County, federal agents obtained a new grand jury subpoena last week but elections officials received it Thursday, and Bob Page told CalMatters that three names from September appeared again in the new subpoena.
The New York Times said the new subpoenas asked for internal communications about DOJ's demands to county officials and the California secretary of state, and it also sought records involving the "methods for screening for unlawful voting by aliens".
Lists, Appeals, Next Steps
Chief Judge James "Jeb" Boasberg ordered DOJ to turn over its list of approximately 20,000 suspected noncitizen voters in California to attorneys representing CHIRLA and a California voter by 5 p.m. Friday.
Chad Dunn, legal director of the UCLA Voting Rights Project, told the court, "If you're a voter in California you have to wonder if you're on this list; will you ever be on this list?" as he argued the investigations were creating uncertainty for residents.
Boasberg restricted how the information could be used, and he pressed government attorneys to provide an assurance that no further lists would be distributed, telling DOJ attorney Ty Trejo, "You could all sit down and have a nice weekend if you say you won't send lists," before Trejo declined to commit.
The New York Times reported that DOJ's subpoenas were part of a widening effort to prove unsubstantiated claims about large numbers of illegal voters, and it said the administration sought records of internal communications and "efforts to prevent noncitizen votes from being counted".
CalMatters said the Justice Department has appealed Carter's ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and it described the subpoenas as setting up a showdown over the fundamentals of American democracy around next Tuesday's midterm elections.