Justice Department subpoenas California officials in escalation of its scrutiny of elections

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department has issued subpoenas to California officials in an escalation of its scrutiny of local election administration.

The Associated Press obtained copies of three subpoenas sent Oct. 21 and Oct. 24 to employees of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder, ordering them to appear in court on Nov. 4, the day after the election.

The subpoenas request any documents and communications related to letters sent in July and October by federal officials to state election officials outlining allegations of noncitizens on the state’s voter rolls.

They also seek any information about efforts to prevent noncitizen votes from being counted.

All four U.S. attorneys in California were issuing subpoenas, according to a person familiar with the matter who insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

Dean Logan, the Los Angeles County registrar, said, “threats and intimidation have no place in elections.”

A letter accompanying a subpoena sent to the county registrar's Custodian of Records says it was issued “in connection with an official criminal investigation being conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations.” It didn't elaborate.

It is unclear whether the Justice Department intends to bring criminal charges against anyone. The department does not typically subpoena people who it regards as targets of a criminal investigation to appear before a grand jury.

Subpoenas come amid ongoing court battle

The Trump administration has sued to force California to set aside up to 20,000 ballots it suspects went to noncitizens and not count them until citizenship can be verified. A district court judge on Tuesday rejected that request, then on Thursday appointed a special master to evaluate the administration's claims.

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter said special master Daniel B. Garrie would be tasked with “developing the factual record” for the court.

Carter had said Tuesday he wanted to vet the federal government’s list of alleged noncitizen voters since its reliability has been debated and both sides have agreed it includes an unspecified number of citizens.

Carter also said a special master could investigate California’s claims that it cannot logistically separate the ballots in time for the Dec. 3 county election certification deadline.

It's not clear what would happen if the special master does find a substantial number of noncitizen voters on the federal government’s list or how that would affect the certification of election results. The 20,000 people on the DOJ’s list are a small fraction of California’s 23 million voters.

Some county election officials have received subpoenas, starting as early as September, for records about individual voters the department suspects of registering to vote illegally.

Carter concluded Tuesday's court hearing by issuing a stark warning: “This court believes it would be wise that any threats to state and county election employees cease immediately.”

Trump administration appeals to higher court

The Trump administration asked a federal appeals court to quickly weigh in.

The Justice Department said in a late Wednesday filing that it's essential the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issue a ruling as soon as possible due to “irreversible ballot processing occurring on an ongoing basis.”

The appeal came just hours after Carter issued a blistering order against the department’s effort to compel California to segregate the ballots.

Carter’s decision was the latest legal setback for President Donald Trump in his efforts to expand federal control over state-run elections in the midterms that will decide control of Congress for the rest of his term. The Justice Department has made similar demands in other states, including Washington.

Noncitizen voting has been a central focus of Trump’s political messaging for years, although available data indicates it is exceedingly rare.

Trump blasted Carter's ruling before heading to a campaign rally in South Carolina.

“California is very corrupt. The elections are extremely corrupt. The judge should not have done that but we’ll appeal that, of course,” he told reporters Thursday.

Carter ruled that the Justice Department's demands violated the National Voter Registration Act, which prohibits changes to voter rolls or election procedures within 90 days of an election.

Federal authorities have charged foreign nationals in California

Over 500,000 votes have already been processed in Los Angeles County alone, according to court filings. The system also protects voter privacy: Once a vote is processed, it cannot be traced back to the person who cast it.

Carter is to rule on the government’s renewed request for a preliminary injunction to bar the state from counting the ballots until the litigation is resolved. He said he will do so after a Nov. 13 evidentiary hearing with input from the special master.

He said that if the federal government suspected noncitizens were voting, it could continue to prosecute those cases criminally. Federal authorities have charged over two dozen foreign nationals in California, targeting people they allege have illegally registered to vote or have voted.

Appeals panel judges have said they wouldn't support setting aside ballots this close to midterms

Just last week, the Justice Department argued before a three-judge panel from the 9th Circuit for a fast ruling on its request to stop any counting of the ballots.

The panel ruled it was premature for an appeals court to get involved before a lower-court ruling. But two of the judges wrote concurrences making it clear they wouldn’t support setting aside ballots at this late date.

One judge dissented, arguing that federal law requires California to vet the potentially illegal ballots before counting them. Failing to do so, he wrote, would cause irreparable harm to the election.