California senators call for probe into Trump administration election operation

Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Sunday called on California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) to launch a probe into a whistleblower’s allegations that the Trump administration attempted to search through the state’s voting records.

The senators wrote in a letter to Bonta that on Sept. 8, a whistleblower disclosed that the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) subdivision, the Fraud and Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS), were assigned to an “‘unlawful voter initiative’ using highly questionable data and methods to identify purported unlawful voters.”

“DHS and USCIS training materials admit these investigations will include U.S. citizens, some of whom will have federal law enforcement records created against them based on questionable data and rushed reviews by officers held to quotas,” Padilla, the top Democrat on the Senate committee overseeing federal elections, and Schiff stated.

The Hill has reached out to DHS for comment.

The whistleblower claimed that USCIS personnel were directed to access voter information without authorization, violating state law, according to the senators. They added that these quotas demanded that USCIS personnel investigate 40 subjects a day with agency leaders tracking their output “in an attempt to complete this rushed investigation by Sept. 12.”

“The Trump administration appears to be undertaking this rushed effort to find –– or manufacture –– evidence for its baseless election conspiracy theories of widespread voter fraud ahead of the 2026 midterm elections,” the California Democrats wrote, adding that accusing naturalized citizens of being “unlawful voters” will have “serious consequences for Californians.”

Padilla and Schiff alleged that USCIS personnel were told to misrepresent themselves to access the voter data, and claimed that DHS handed the voter data to FDNS officers. They said the whistleblower was “dismissed” by agency leaders.

“Considering California’s strong protections surrounding the use of voter registration information and [personally identifiable information], we believe this disclosure merits a review by your office to determine what actions are necessary and appropriate to protect California voters,” the senators wrote to Bonta.

Padilla said in a statement that following the whistleblower’s disclosure, he and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) last week called on DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and USCIS Director Joseph Edlow to halt the “unlawful voter initiative” and update Congress on the initiative’s activities.

The 30-page disclosure from the whistleblower alleged that employees were ordered to search voter data despite concerns that they could be violating state law, and they were assured individuals would not be held liable, possibly indicating that the agency was “aware that the activity may be illegal.”

The Trump administration previously sought voter data from several states, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) sued those that did not comply. A federal judge dismissed the DOJ’s suit against California in January, calling the government’s request “unprecedented and illegal.”