The Trump administration has escalated its offensive over California's voting by launching a criminal probe into reputed noncitizen voting in California. Prosecutors are issuing federal grand jury subpoenas to local election workers, including staff in Los Angeles County, according to documents reviewed by the New York Times. The subpoenas seek internal emails, records on how counties screen for ineligible voters, and details on efforts to block noncitizen ballots. The county's top election official called the move "intimidation."
"At every step, the US Department of Justice has taken a confrontational, adversarial approach," Registrar Dean Logan said in a statement. "Election officials are acting in accordance with state and federal law." The department has warned that officials who process ballots from noncitizens could face prosecution. The subpoenas were being issued Thursday by all four US attorneys in California, per the AP. The investigation runs alongside a stalled federal lawsuit seeking to prevent roughly 20,000 ballots from being counted—claims California officials say rest on faulty data, in a state where studies show voter fraud is rare.
Also on Thursday, a federal judge appointed a special master to evaluate the administration's claim that California has about 20,000 noncitizens on its voter rolls. The day before, the judge rejected the Justice Department's demand that California sequester the ballots until citizenship can be verified. A grand jury subpoena does not indicate that the recipient is under investigation, the Times points out.
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