Trump administration opens criminal investigation over alleged noncitizen voting in California

On Wednesday, judge declined administration’s request to order state to not count ballots from up to 20,000 people 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. Continue reading… Early in-person voting gets under way in Los Angeles, California, on 24 October.

Photograph: Grace Hie Yoon/Anadolu/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Early in-person voting gets under way in Los Angeles, California, on 24 October. 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. ‘They wanted to make a scene’: the 72-year-old paraded in dramatic arrest for ‘voter fraud’. 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 Explore more on these topics Trump administration California US midterm elections 2026 US voting rights US politics Law (US) US justice system Share Reuse this content.