Justice Department Subpoenas Los Angeles County Election Workers
The Los Angeles County registrar's office confirmed to NPR on Oct. 29 that it had received grand jury subpoenas directed at its employees the week before. Grand jury subpoenas are legal orders issued in a criminal investigation. At least two employees were served with subpoenas instructing them to appear in court on Nov. 4, NPR reported.
The U.S. Department of Justice issued the subpoenas amid a dispute over efforts to identify noncitizens on California's voter rolls. The department had sent letters to local California election officials warning that they could face significant federal scrutiny and legal exposure if they refused to cooperate with demands to set aside ballots of people flagged as likely noncitizens. The New York Times first reported on the Los Angeles subpoenas.
Politico reported that Los Angeles County elections officials released copies of subpoenas sent to three employees. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on the latest subpoenas to California election workers, Reuters reported.
Separately, a federal judge in California rejected a Justice Department request that would have required state officials to set aside and stop processing ballots of thousands of voters. The request was based on a list of 20,000 names that federal officials described as likely noncitizens. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter found no legal basis for the ballot set-aside demand and said the court was not convinced the list was reliable. He also warned Justice Department officials that threats to state and county election employees must cease immediately.
The Justice Department is appealing Carter's ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, a federal appeals court covering the West.
The department has pursued related cases in California. On Oct. 19, it announced charges against 28 non-U.S. citizens with election crimes in the state, NPR reported. It has also sued the State of California over its voter list concerning people described as likely noncitizens. In June 2025, the department sued the Orange County registrar of voters for refusing to provide noncitizen voter removal records.
In a letter to California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, the Justice Department gave her 48 hours to obtain a list, investigate and take action, 21 days before the Nov. 3 General Election. Weber issued a statement in response to that letter.
