Trump administration opens criminal investigation over alleged noncitizen voting in California

The Trump administration has opened a criminal investigation in California over claims that thousands of noncitizens are registered to vote in the state, and has begun subpoenaing election officials.

The development, which was reported by Bloomberg Law and the New York Times, comes just days before the US midterm elections in which the president’s party is expected to see major losses.

Donald Trump has repeatedly alleged California’s elections are “corrupt” and “rigged”, and in recent days his administration has taken aggressive steps to cast doubt on election results long before polls have closed.

Some employees from the office of the Los Angeles county registrar-recorder received grand jury subpoenas, the office confirmed.

Dean Logan, the Los Angeles county registrar, said in a statement that court rulings have affirmed that election officials are following the law and that “threats and intimidation have no place in elections”.

“At every step, the US Department of Justice has taken a confrontational, adversarial approach,” Logan said. “We will take whatever steps necessary to ensure the safety of our employees and to remain focused on serving the voters of Los Angeles County so they can exercise their voting franchise.”

The Orange county registrar of voters also received a subpoena this week related to a criminal investigation, the office confirmed to the Guardian, in addition to three in September. The federal grand jury subpoenas seek “unredacted voter registration information” for 80 possible registrants, the office said.

On Wednesday, a federal judge declined a request from the administration to order California election officials to segregate and not count ballots from as many as 20,000 people the White House alleges are likely noncitizens. Voting by noncitizens is very rare.

“This case is about the right of every American citizen to vote in a free and fair election,” the US district judge David Carter said in his ruling. “Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch.”

Carter on Thursday agreed to appoint a special master to evaluate the administration’s claims that California has some noncitizens on its voter rolls.

Earlier this month, Trump’s Department of Justice also criminally charged 28 green card holders in California that it accused of fraudulently registering to vote and illegally voting.

Reuters contributed reporting