Federal Subpoenas Reach LA County Election Staff

For election workers in Los Angeles County, the November 4th deadline now carries a new obligation: they must appear in federal court the day after voters cast their ballots. The U.S. Justice Department sent three subpoenas to employees of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder on October 21 and October 24. These documents order the staff to produce specific records and communications related to federal letters sent in July and October. Those letters outlined allegations that noncitizens appear on California voter rolls.

The subpoenas also demand information on efforts to prevent noncitizen votes from being counted. According to a person familiar with the matter, all four U.S. attorneys in California issued these subpoenas. A letter accompanying one subpoena stated it was connected to an official criminal investigation by the Department of Homeland Security, specifically Homeland Security Investigations. The department did not provide further details on the scope of that inquiry.

Dean Logan, the Los Angeles County registrar, responded to the legal pressure with a sharp critique of federal intervention. He stated that threats and intimidation have no place in elections. The subpoenas arrive while a separate legal battle rages in federal court. The Trump administration has sued to force California to set aside up to 20,000 ballots suspected of belonging to noncitizens. They want those ballots held until citizenship is verified.

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter rejected that request on Tuesday. He then appointed special master Daniel B. Garrie on Thursday to develop the factual record for the court. Carter noted that the federal list of alleged noncitizen voters is debated and includes an unspecified number of citizens. He also acknowledged California's claim that it cannot logistically separate the ballots before the December 3 certification deadline. The 20,000 individuals on the list represent a small fraction of California's 23 million voters.

The administration is pressing the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for a quick ruling. In a filing late Wednesday, the Justice Department argued that irreversible ballot processing is occurring on an ongoing basis. This appeal followed Carter's decision, which cited the National Voter Registration Act. That law prohibits changes to voter rolls or election procedures within 90 days of an election. Carter warned that threats to state and county election employees should cease immediately.

More than 500,000 votes have already been processed in Los Angeles County alone. Once processed, a vote cannot be traced back to the person who cast it. Carter will rule on a renewed request for a preliminary injunction after a November 13 evidentiary hearing. Federal authorities have already charged over two dozen foreign nationals in California for allegedly registering or voting illegally. The 9th Circuit panel has signaled it would not support setting aside ballots this close to the midterms.

President Donald Trump criticized the district court's ruling while heading to a campaign rally in South Carolina. He told reporters that California elections are extremely corrupt and that the judge should not have acted that way. The administration has made similar demands in other states, including Washington.