WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • The Justice Department directed California federal prosecutors to pursue criminal subpoenas involving state and local election officials.
  • Judge David Carter rejected an emergency request to sequester ballots connected to a list of 20,000 people deemed likely noncitizens.
  • Carter said federal authorities could prosecute individuals under Section 611 and noted California’s procedures for canceling ineligible registrations.
  • Bill Essayli said at least 20,000 suspected noncitizens are registered to vote in California and challenged the accuracy of state voter rolls.

The U.S. Department of Justice is escalating its election integrity fight with California after state and Los Angeles County election officials refused to sequester certain ballots. The dispute involves ballots connected to a list of 20,000 people whom federal officials determined may be “likely noncitizens.”

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta have opposed the federal effort. Their resistance continued even as the legal fight shifted from an emergency court motion toward criminal subpoenas involving state and local election administration.

On Wednesday, Central District of California Judge David Carter, who was appointed by Clinton, rejected the Justice Department’s emergency motion. Federal officials had sought to require California and Los Angeles County election authorities to separate ballots returned by people appearing on the 20,000-person list.

Carter issued a 26-page order sharply criticizing the federal government’s position. He compared the effort to prevent illegal aliens from voting with efforts that had prevented black Americans and women from voting.

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The judge also compared the federal government’s approach with Jim Crow-era laws and cited “poll taxes, literary tests, and other obstacles to prevent people from casting their vote.” His order described the requested action involving the ballots as a threat to democracy.

Yet Carter’s ruling also pointed federal officials toward another available path. Rather than requiring election officials to sequester the ballots, the judge said the government could prosecute individuals under federal law.

Carter wrote, “There is a clear remedy available. The United States can prosecute individuals according to Section 611, as it has historically and recently done.”

He added, “California also has established procedures to cancel the voter registrations of any individuals proven ineligible.” That language left the Justice Department with an enforcement option even after the emergency motion failed.

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Justice Department leadership subsequently directed top federal prosecutors in California to seek criminal subpoenas involving state and local officials and their roles in administering allegedly illegal voting. Two people familiar with the situation described the directive.

Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles and at least one other California district began carrying out the directive Thursday. The development represents a major escalation in the Trump administration’s effort ahead of the midterms to examine the integrity of elections administered by the state.

An initial group of subpoenas was sent to California officials Thursday, according to another person who requested anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity. The names of all politicians and election officials being targeted were not immediately known.

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The potential criminal charges that federal officials might pursue also were not immediately known. What is clear from the reported directive is that the inquiry has moved into the realm of grand jury subpoenas.

The Los Angeles U.S. Attorney’s office, led by President Donald Trump ally Bill Essayli, has been eager to conduct a criminal investigation of officials involved. According to one anonymous individual, that interest included California’s secretary of state.

Pressure from the deputy attorney general’s office to seek grand jury subpoenas came shortly after Carter rejected the department’s request to set aside up to 20,000 ballots. The timing put the criminal process front and center after California prevailed against the emergency motion.

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar Recorder and County Clerk Dean Logan were identified as officials who came to mind amid the developing investigation. However, the names of those receiving or targeted by the subpoenas were not disclosed in the reported information.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli pressed forward Thursday evening with a public response to Bonta’s criticism of the federal list. His message directly challenged the accuracy of California’s voter rolls.

"Rob Bonta calls our list of noncitizens “garbage.” He should check his own voter rolls, which are inaccurate and full of ineligible voters. At least 20,000 suspected noncitizens are registered to vote in California. We have the receipts and presented them in court. Americans deserve to have their votes counted equally."

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