Voting Rights · Report · File No. 261029-822
Justice Department subpoenas California election officials to grand jury days before midterms
Federal prosecutors are demanding records from Los Angeles County about its voter rolls and its contacts with Homeland Security, escalating a fight with California over an unproven claim of 20,000 noncitizen voters.
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The Justice Department has issued grand jury subpoenas to state and local election officials in California, widening a federal inquiry into the state's voter rolls five days before the midterm election 12.
The subpoenas were sent between Oct. 21 and Oct. 24, according to CBS News, which reported that sources with direct knowledge and copies of the subpoenas confirmed the move 1. ABC News reported Thursday that the subpoenas went to local election officials as part of a criminal investigation into the state's voter rolls 2.
The federal government alleges that as many as 20,000 non-citizens may be registered to vote in California 1. Three of the subpoenas seen by CBS News went to officials at the office of the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk 1. They seek documents about the county's correspondence with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter regarding non-citizen voting, and records about how the agency screens for "unlawful voting by aliens" 1.
The subpoenas follow a ruling by U.S. District Judge David Carter in Los Angeles, who rejected the administration's bid to require California election officials to separate out mail ballots received from roughly 20,000 people the government claims are not U.S. citizens 1. The judge said allowing that would violate "longstanding constitutional principles" giving states authority over their own elections 1.
From Channel GOPFrost: grand jury faulted Moody over $10 millionCongressman Maxwell Frost · 148 plays · captioned, with the source named
A clerk cites the judge's warning
Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan pointed to a section of Carter's ruling in which the judge chided the government for threatening to charge local officials who do not comply, writing that "these threats must stop" 1.
Judge Carter's admonishment about threats directed at election officials on Tuesday was well placed and appreciated. At every step, the U.S. Department of Justice has taken a confrontational, adversarial approach. Election officials are acting in accordance with state and federal law. Clear court rulings at both the U.S. District Court level and the Court of Appeals have confirmed that. Threats and intimidation have no place in elections.
A Justice Department spokesperson said the agency does not comment on leaks about grand jury subpoenas, but acknowledged that criminal investigative action was the next logical step based on Carter's ruling 1.
To be clear, the district court judge explained that voting unlawfully results in criminal exposure. Consistent with this, California also wrote in its filing that the remedy for unlawful voting is through criminal prosecution. Thus, while DOJ maintains that a civil remedy is still available, all agree that noncitizen voting is properly addressed through criminal law.
What happens next
The subpoenas demand documents and records, according to the copies seen by CBS News 1. Logan said his office will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure the safety of its employees and to remain focused on serving Los Angeles County voters 1.
That matters because the fight is now playing out in a criminal grand jury rather than only in the civil case Carter decided, and it lands in the final days of a midterm election in which Republicans control the House, the Senate and the White House 12. The subpoenas ask for records about the county's methods for screening for unlawful voting and about any evidence collected on non-citizen voters 1.
The Record
- The first of the grand jury subpoenas to California officials were sent, according to CBS News 1.
- The last of the subpoenas in the batch were sent, CBS News reported 1.
- ABC News reported that the Justice Department issued grand jury subpoenas to local election officials in California as part of a criminal investigation into the state's voter rolls 2.
Sources
- CBS News, “California officials face grand jury subpoenas as DOJ expands voting probe” (2026-10-29). cbsnews.com/news/california-election-officials-grand-jury-su
- ABC News, “DOJ issues grand jury subpoenas to election officials in California - ABC News” (2026-10-29). abcnews.com/Politics/doj-issues-grand-jury-subpoenas-electio
Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.
More from the files
Justice Department opens criminal inquiry into alleged noncitizen voting in California
Federal prosecutors are subpoenaing election officials in Los Angeles and Orange counties five days before the midterm election, after a judge refused to set aside up to 20,000 mail ballots the government says may come from noncitizens.
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Courts to rule on Trump's election push as DOJ sues Alaska and California before Nov. 3
The Justice Department has sued Alaska and California and made demands of Washington state, all within days of Election Day. Judges are expected to rule quickly, and the fights could reach the Supreme Court.
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