Wire reporting: (AP, via Local 10)

The Justice Department has issued grand jury subpoenas to California election officials in a criminal inquiry tied to federal claims that about 20,000 noncitizens may be on the state's voter rolls, according to CBS News, ABC News and an Associated Press account carried by Local 10^1,2,6.

CBS News, citing people with direct knowledge and copies of the papers, said subpoenas went out between Oct. 21 and Oct. 24, including three to the Los Angeles County registrar's office seeking records on how the county screens for unlawful voting by noncitizens and correspondence with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter¹. ABC News, citing unnamed sources, said the subpoenas were issued Thursday to local officials^2,3.

An AP report carried by Local 10 said the papers were going out from all four U.S. attorneys in California and that the news service had copies of two subpoenas directing Los Angeles County registrar employees to appear in court on Nov. 4, the day after Election Day^6,12,13.

The criminal step follows a civil fight over whether California must set aside those ballots. U.S. District Judge David Carter in Los Angeles on Wednesday denied a Justice Department request that the state not count ballots from people on the federal list, according to States Newsroom reporting republished by the Missouri Independent and others^21,1,35.

Carter wrote that the executive branch was asking the court to treat itself as the sole sovereign, adding that California and its people are sovereign too²¹. LAist reported that he also said the demand ran against the National Voter Registration Act's 90-day quiet period before a federal election and that both sides agreed some U.S. citizens were on the list³⁵.

Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan said election officials are acting in accordance with state and federal law and that threats and intimidation have no place in elections¹. A Justice Department spokesperson told CBS News the department does not comment on leaks about grand jury subpoenas, while saying the district court explained that voting unlawfully can bring criminal exposure and that California had argued the remedy is prosecution¹.

The department has appealed Carter's order to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, telling the court a prompt ruling was needed because ballots were still being processed, LAist reported^35,21. An earlier 9th Circuit panel declined emergency relief on procedural grounds, with two judges also signaling they would not support setting ballots aside this close to the midterms^35,18.

AP reporting carried by Local 10 said Carter on Thursday appointed a special master to evaluate the administration's claims about the rolls, less than a day after rejecting the sequestration demand⁶. What the subpoenas will produce, whether any charges follow, and how the 9th Circuit or, if asked, the Supreme Court will treat the civil case remain unknown^1,21,35.