DOJ Subpoenas CA Election Workers as Legislative Spend Tops $128M

Federal prosecutors have issued criminal grand jury subpoenas to at least 4 California election workers in Los Angeles and Orange counties — including 1 delivered Thursday to the Orange County Registrar of Voters seeking unredacted records for 60 voters — a day after U.S. District Judge David O. Carter denied the Justice Department's request to set aside 20,000 California ballots and ordered prosecutors to stop threatening election officials (Mountain View Voice / CalMatters, KCBS Radio / Associated Press, ABC7 News). At the same time, CalMatters investigations found that total spending in California legislative races has surpassed $128 million with tech donors providing at least 20% of outside contributions (The Almanac / CalMatters), at least 14 legislative candidates have used "red boxing" on campaign websites (Mountain View Voice / CalMatters), and legal scholars are debating whether Proposition 45 could streamline environmental reviews for data centers (Mountain View Voice / CalMatters).

Federal Subpoenas Escalate Clash Over 20,000 California Ballots

In Los Angeles County, where more than 500,000 votes have already been processed ahead of the Dec. 3 county certification deadline, 3 employees of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder received subpoenas sent Oct. 21 and Oct. 24 ordering them to testify before a grand jury on Nov. 4 in an investigation involving Homeland Security Investigations and Los Angeles U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli (KCBS Radio / Associated Press, Mountain View Voice / CalMatters). In Orange County, Registrar of Voters Bob Page said Thursday's subpoena sought records on 60 voters, including 3 whose records were already produced among 20 voters in September, while San Luis Obispo was the only 1 of California's counties to announce an investigation into the department's demand letters.

Judge David O. Carter ruled that segregating up to 20,000 ballots among California's 23 million registered voters violated the National Voter Registration Act's 90-day quiet period, appointed special master Daniel B. Garrie ahead of a Nov. 13 evidentiary hearing, and noted that the 28 people charged last week with unlawful voter registration represent 0.0001% of the state's electorate while the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals considers the Justice Department's appeal. Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan, State Sen. Tom Umberg, Loyola Law School professor Justin Levitt (citing the 5-year federal statute of limitations), and McGeorge School of Law professor Michael Vitiello criticized the subpoenas, while Justice Department spokesperson Kiersten Pels stated that recipients are not targets (Mountain View Voice / CalMatters).

Tech Donors Fuel $128M Legislative Spending Surge as 14 Candidates Use 'Red Boxing'

Across California Assembly and Senate contests, total spending reached more than $128 million as of Oct. 29 — up from $74.2 million in 2022 and nearly $100 million in 2024 — with Google, Meta, Uber, Sergey Brin, and Chris Larsen accounting for at least 20% of contributions to outside independent expenditure committees and funding half of the top 10 PAC spenders (The Almanac / CalMatters). Tim Draper and Larsen's GROW California spent more than $23 million (11 of 12 primary-backed candidates advanced after 7 of 9 union-backed AI worker bills were signed last month), Google- and Meta-funded California Leads spent nearly $152 million (backing candidates including Greg Wallis, Eric Lucan, Sara Hernandez against Sarah Rascón, and Brian Goldsmith), Meta's committee spent $1.3 million for Scott Sakakihara, tech-funded committees provided 90% of outside support for Andrae Gonzales (after $800,000 in primary opposition to Ana Palacio, 40% from tech) and 63% for Annalisa Perea (over Sandra Celedon), JOBSPAC received $3 million from Brin, $2.5 million from Meta, and nearly $1 million from Google, Legislative Action PAC received over $500,000, and Guardrails Alliance (Charlie Blaettler) spent nearly $2 million criticizing pro-AI PAC Leading the Future (which spent over $50 million across 46 congressional races nationwide while Elon Musk spent over $350 million), drawing commentary from Stephen Aguilar (USC), Robert Singleton (Chamber of Progress), Catherine Bracy (Tech Equity Action), Jeremy Mack (Phoenix Project), and Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal (The Almanac / CalMatters).

To guide outside spenders without violating the $5,900 per-election direct candidate contribution limit, at least 14 legislative candidates placed "red box" messaging instructions or 10 to 15 minutes of B-roll video on their websites, and CalMatters documented 3 instances where digital ads mirrored those instructions (Mountain View Voice / CalMatters):

• In Santa Ana, an Oct. 14 15-second ad by Working People United (sponsored by SEIU California State Council, which has spent at least $1.4 million since April supporting Jessie Lopez against fellow councilmember David Penaloza) echoed red-box text on Lopez's site regarding a Flock camera contract.
• In Assembly District 36 (where Democrats hold a 12% registration edge), an Oct. 9 ad by Families for Affordable Living (part of $3.4 million in outside spending supporting Republican Jeff Gonzalez, whose campaign spent $1.04 million, against Imperial Mayor Ida Obeso-Martinez, who added her own Oct. 19 communications tab) matched a memo on Gonzalez's website.
• In the North Bay Assembly race with nearly $7 million in outside spending (over $4.5 million for Marin County Supervisor Eric Lucan and about $2 million for Rohnert Park Councilmember Jackie Elward), an Oct. 18 ad by Workers for Jackie Elward mirrored a "need to know" guide on Elward's gallery page, prompting comments from Jorge Contreras, Patrick Llewellyn, FPPC spokeswoman Shery Yang, Steven Maviglio, Dan Schnur, Michael Trujillo, Doug Linney, four waters, and Mike Gatto (Mountain View Voice / CalMatters).

Legal Scholars and Industry Groups Clash Over Proposition 45 and Data Centers

Meanwhile, corporate donors have poured more than $10 million into Yes on Proposition 45 — including $3.05 million from PG&E and $500,000 from Prologis — to streamline California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) reviews for critical infrastructure (Mountain View Voice / CalMatters). UCLA School of Law scholar Julia Stein (along with 3 other environmental law scholars), attorney Matt McKerley, and Earthjustice deputy managing attorney Nina Robertson warned that Prop. 45's exemption for telecommunications and ancillary projects could allow data centers to bypass Senate Bill 887 (1 of 7 data center laws recently signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom) and local restrictions proposed or enacted in at least 26 California cities and counties, while Data Center Coalition Director Khara Boender and an Office of Legislative Counsel memo maintained that data centers are not covered by the measure.