DOJ Subpoenas LA Election Officials Amid Ballot Count Dispute

The U.S. Justice Department has sent three subpoenas to Los Angeles County election officials, demanding records related to federal claims that noncitizens may have voted in the upcoming election. The subpoenas were issued on Oct. 21 and require employees of the county Registrar-Recorder to appear in court on Nov. 4, the day after the general election. The documents seek communications, records, and internal methods used to screen for unlawful voting by noncitizens. According to a person familiar with the matter, the subpoenas were issued by all four U.S. attorneys in California. The individual requested anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

The legal move escalates a dispute over up to 20,000 ballots that the Trump administration suspects were cast by noncitizens. The administration has sued to force California to set those ballots aside until citizenship can be verified. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter rejected that request on Tuesday. He then appointed a special master, Daniel B. Garrie, to develop the factual record for the court. Carter did not specify the exact scope of Garrie’s responsibilities but noted the need to vet the reliability of the federal government’s list.

In a Tuesday court hearing, Carter stated that both sides agreed the federal list includes an unspecified number of citizens. He expressed concern that separating the ballots could risk disenfranchising those citizens and disrupt the election certification process. The federal government contends that California cannot logistically separate the ballots in time for the county certification deadline on Dec. 3. More than 500,000 votes have already been processed in Los Angeles County, according to court filings. Once processed, the system protects voter privacy by making votes untraceable to the individual.

Dean Logan, the Los Angeles County registrar, responded to the subpoenas by saying that threats and intimidation have no place in elections. The Justice Department has also filed for a preliminary injunction to bar the state from counting the disputed ballots. Carter plans to rule on that request after an evidentiary hearing on Nov. 13. He indicated that the federal government could continue to prosecute noncitizen voters criminally in the meantime. Federal authorities have already charged over two dozen foreign nationals in California as part of a statewide sweep.

The administration is also appealing to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. In a late Wednesday filing, the Justice Department argued for a quick ruling because irreversible ballot processing is ongoing. Trump criticized Carter’s decision on Thursday morning before a campaign rally in South Carolina. He called California elections extremely corrupt and claimed without evidence that there are millions of bad ballots in the state. Carter, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, argued that the Justice Department’s demands violate the National Voter Registration Act. The law prohibits changes to election procedure within 90 days of an election.

The 9th Circuit will be the second time the appeals court considers the case. Last week, a panel ruled it was premature for the court to intervene before a lower-court ruling was final. Two of the three judges wrote separate concurrences stating they would not support setting aside ballots at this late stage. They questioned the accuracy of the federal list and warned against disenfranchising citizens. One judge dissented, arguing that federal law requires California to vet the potentially illegal ballots before counting them to prevent irreparable harm.