The Trump administration has initiated a criminal investigation centered on claims that thousands of noncitizens are registered to vote in California, according to reporting by Bloomberg Law and the New York Times. Election officials in Los Angeles County and Orange County have confirmed receiving grand jury subpoenas as part of the inquiry. The development emerges just days before the US midterm elections, a period when the president’s party faces expectations of significant electoral losses.
Dean Logan, the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder, issued a statement asserting that court rulings have supported election officials’ adherence to legal requirements. Logan characterized the Department of Justice’s approach as confrontational and adversarial, and pledged to take steps to protect employee safety while continuing to serve voters. Orange County’s registrar of voters office indicated that federal grand jury subpoenas seek unredacted voter registration information for 77 potential registrants, with multiple subpoenas received both this week and in September.
President Trump has made repeated public assertions that California’s elections are corrupt and rigged. In recent days, his administration has taken what observers describe as aggressive measures to raise questions about election integrity ahead of voting. The administration previously requested that a federal judge order California election officials to segregate and not count ballots from approximately 20,000 individuals the White House alleges are likely noncitizens.
US District Judge David Carter rejected that request, stating in his ruling that the case concerns the constitutional right of American citizens to vote in free and fair elections. Carter noted that the federal government had never previously sought, on the eve of an election, to pressure a state and local government to abandon their own constitutional election procedures. On Thursday, Carter agreed to appoint a special master to evaluate the administration’s claims regarding noncitizens on California voter rolls.
Earlier this month, the Department of Justice criminally charged 28 green card holders in California, alleging fraudulent voter registration and illegal voting.
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