DOJ subpoenas California election officials as voter probes expand

Key Points:

• The Department of Justice has issued subpoenas to election officials in at least four California counties, including Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Clara, and San Diego, as part of criminal investigations into alleged noncitizen voter fraud ahead of the midterm elections.
• The subpoenas request unredacted voter information and communications related to alleged noncitizen voting, but do not imply that the election officials themselves are under investigation.
• U.S. District Judge David O. Carter has reprimanded DOJ officials for threatening local election workers and ordered such intimidation to stop, describing the DOJ's actions as a pattern of federal election interference.
• Local election officials, including Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan, have condemned the DOJ's confrontational approach, emphasizing their compliance with state and federal laws and the importance of protecting election workers from threats.
• Experts and election law advocates have criticized the DOJ's subpoenas as politically motivated attempts to undermine California's election administration, with the DOJ continuing its aggressive tactics despite judicial warnings.