USA05 September, 20263 min read
U.S. Justice Department Issues Seven FBI Subpoenas For Nevada Voter Data, Francisco Aguilar Says
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Justice Department issued seven subpoenas to Nevada Secretary of State for voter information. Subpoenas were issued over the last three months, intensifying federal involvement in elections.
DOJ subpoenas Nevada
The U.S. Department of Justice issued seven voter-related subpoenas to Nevada’s secretary of state over the last three months, seeking voter information as the Trump administration increases federal pressure on state election officials ahead of the midterms.
Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar said his office received “seven subpoenas from the Federal Bureau of Investigation related to voter data over the past three months,” and he criticized the move as an excessive burden on states.
Aguilar’s office said it could not provide additional details about what specific instances the federal government might have been focusing on, while the DOJ and the FBI did not immediately respond to requests for information.
The subpoenas were disclosed two months before Election Day, and they arrived as a federal judge in Nevada last month dismissed a DOJ lawsuit seeking Nevada’s unredacted voter registration list.
The Nevada Independent also reported the subpoenas were voter-related and confirmed the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office received seven voter-related Department of Justice subpoenas from the FBI over the past three months.
Aguilar and DHS pushback
Aguilar, a Democrat, framed the subpoenas as part of a broader effort to inundate election offices, telling the Washington Examiner that “The federal administration is inundating election offices with investigations and questions ahead of the election.” In the same dispute, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin informed Aguilar the federal agency had found “as many as” 15,903 noncitizens in Nevada’s voter records, and Aguilar called the number “speculative at best.” The Review-Journal said federal officials met virtually with Aguilar’s office last month and told him they had only confirmed 185 names through a manual review, calling the original figure a “ceiling.”
CNN reported that behind closed doors, the department acknowledged to state election officials that it had “confirmed” just 185 of them, while another 6,200 were labeled “higher confidence matches” but still required further vetting. The New York Times reported that the office of Cisco Aguilar confirmed receiving seven “voter-related” subpoenas from F.B.I. agents over the last three months but declined to offer details.
Midterms and legal fights
The subpoenas come as the Trump administration escalates efforts to shape how the midterm elections are run, including demanding private voter information across the country and seeking to change election rules.
CNN reported that the Department of Homeland Security began a surge in its efforts to investigate voter fraud in nine states, including Nevada, and that the administration previously pushed states to share their voter rolls for audit.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal said the DHS operation involved hundreds of Homeland Security Investigations agents across nine states, and it also reported that the agency did not dispute the news reports in a statement to the Review-Journal.
The New York Times said the Justice Department’s request comes with less than 60 days to go before the midterm elections, as the administration deployed hundreds of investigators to hunt for voter fraud.
CNN added that the administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to give the U.S. Postal Service sweeping power to withhold delivery of mail ballots, setting up a showdown at the high court less than two months before the midterms.