DOJ subpoenas California counties over alleged noncitizen voting
Several counties in Northern California were hit with fresh grand jury subpoenas over alleged noncitizen voting just days before the midterm elections, local officials told CBS News.
Several California counties received grand jury subpoenas from federal prosecutors just before the midterm elections, according to local officials. The subpoenas were issued by a grand jury at the request of prosecutors in the Northern District of California, CBS News reported. The subpoenas are part of the Justice Department's efforts to pressure California to exclude about 20,000 ballots it claims were sent to potential noncitizens ahead of the election.
State and local officials have refused to comply, citing concerns about the federal government's list accuracy and fears that segregating the ballots could disenfranchise legitimate voters. The Justice Department has also pursued criminal investigations, allegedly targeting not just individual noncitizens who may have voted, but also state and local officials themselves.
Two weeks before the election, Los Angeles county officials were also served subpoenas requesting communications with federal officials about noncitizen voting and records on their procedures for identifying and removing noncitizens from voter rolls. The deadlines for Los Angeles and Sonoma counties to respond to those requests were initially set for Nov.
4, but have since been extended. Both Sonoma and Santa Clara County officials stated they have no legal basis for the federal government's demands to segregate ballots, emphasizing their commitment to fair, transparent elections while ensuring access for all eligible voters.
Written by urgent.news from CBS News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
