The Justice Department has issued federal grand jury subpoenas to state and local election officials in California as part of a criminal investigation into allegations that noncitizens are registered to vote in the state.
Three subpoenas reviewed by CBS News were directed to officials in the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office. They request documents concerning the county’s correspondence with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter regarding noncitizen voting. They also seek records and communications about the agency’s methods for screening for unlawful voting by noncitizens, along with information about evidence collected concerning potential noncitizen voters.
Three Los Angeles County employees were also ordered to appear before a federal grand jury on November 4, the day after the election. In a separate subpoena involving Orange County, federal authorities sought unredacted voter records for 60 individuals from the county’s Registrar of Voters.
The subpoenas come as the Trump administration investigates federal claims that as many as 20,000 noncitizens may be registered to vote in California.
The Justice Department previously asked California election officials to separate mail ballots received from individuals on its list of suspected noncitizens, but U.S. District Judge David Carter rejected that request, ruling that requiring officials to set aside the ballots would violate constitutional principles governing state election administration.
