DOJ Subpoenas California Officials Over Noncitizen Voting Claims

The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation in California and issued federal grand jury subpoenas to local election officials as part of its effort to show that as many as 20,000 noncitizens are on the state's voter rolls, a U.S. official confirmed to NBC News on Oct. 29. It is unclear how many subpoenas went out or exactly who received them, according to NBC News.

What did the Justice Department do?

Federal prosecutors issued grand jury subpoenas to election officials in multiple California jurisdictions, NBC News reported, citing a U.S. official. The New York Times first reported the subpoenas. The Justice Department declined to comment on "leaks about alleged grand jury subpoenas" when NBC News asked about them, but said federal courts have held that voting unlawfully carries criminal exposure.

The Justice Department said it would not comment on "leaks about alleged grand jury subpoenas."

What is a grand jury subpoena, and does receiving one mean someone is a suspect?

A grand jury subpoena is a legal order compelling a person or entity to produce documents or testify before a panel that decides whether enough evidence exists to bring criminal charges. The U.S. official told NBC News that receiving a subpoena does not mean a person is necessarily a target — the formal term prosecutors use for someone they intend to charge. The official added that the Justice Department rarely subpoenas people it intends to charge, suggesting the current subpoenas are aimed at gathering records rather than building an immediate indictment against the officials who received them.

Why is the Justice Department investigating noncitizen voting in California?

The subpoenas extend a broader administration effort to identify alleged noncitizens on California's voter rolls, a figure the administration has put at roughly 20,000, per NBC News. That number is central to a separate legal fight over how those voters' mail ballots should be handled in the current election cycle.

What did the federal judge rule this week?

On Oct. 28, a federal judge denied the Trump administration's request to segregate the 20,000 mail ballots tied to alleged noncitizens, NBC News reported. In doing so, the judge called into question the accuracy of the process the administration used to identify those voters — a ruling that came one day before the grand jury subpoenas became public.

What happens next?

The criminal investigation proceeds separately from the ballot-segregation litigation, though both turn on the same underlying voter-roll data. NBC News has not reported a timeline for the grand jury's work or specified which California counties' officials were subpoenaed. The Justice Department's position, per its statement to NBC News, is that unlawful voting exposes individuals to criminal liability regardless of the pending civil ruling on ballot handling.

Glossary

• Grand jury subpoena: A legal demand for testimony or documents issued as part of a criminal investigation, reviewed by a panel deciding whether charges are warranted.
• Target: Department of Justice terminology for a person prosecutors intend to charge, distinct from a witness asked to produce records.
• Segregate (ballots): To separate specific ballots from the general count pending a legal determination on their validity.

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