The Justice Department issued grand jury subpoenas to local California election officials as part of a criminal inquiry into the state's voter rolls, multiple people familiar with the matter told ABC News¹. CalMatters reported that at least four elections workers received subpoenas over the past week, including one delivered Thursday to the Orange County registrar after a federal judge warned prosecutors to stop threatening officials².

Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder employees received subpoenas last week seeking testimony on Nov. 4, the day after Election Day, and records on how the office screens for unlawful voting by noncitizens, ABC News reported after reviewing the documents^1,2.

In Orange County, agents sought unredacted records for 60 people; Registrar Bob Page told CalMatters three names had appeared in earlier demands². Department spokesperson Kiersten Pels said receiving a subpoena does not mean a person is a target and that the department generally does not subpoena targets². A department statement to ABC News said it does not comment on leaks about alleged grand jury subpoenas¹.

U.S. District Judge David Carter on Wednesday rejected an emergency request to segregate about 20,000 ballots the administration says likely belong to noncitizens^1,2. Carter wrote that the federal government had not previously, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce state and local governments to abandon their election procedures^1,2.

Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan said the department had taken a confrontational approach and that threats have no place in elections^1,2. Pels said the judge explained that unlawful voting brings criminal exposure and that California also said criminal prosecution is the remedy^1,2.

CalMatters reported last week's federal charges against 28 people for registering despite not being citizens, a small share of 23 million registered voters². County officials have said federal name lists contained errors; San Luis Obispo County said it would look into names it received². The department has appealed Carter's ruling².