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Justice Department issues grand jury subpoenas to California election officials

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 7 outlets, mostly left-leaning (71%).

7 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

The New York Times and CBS News report that the Justice Department has issued grand jury subpoenas to state and local election officials in California. CBS says the subpoenas were sent between October 21 and October 24, based on sources and copies it saw. The federal government alleges that as many as 20,000 non-citizens are registered to vote in the state. Earlier, U.S. District Judge David Carter in Los Angeles rejected the administration’s bid to require officials to separate mail ballots from roughly 20,000 people it says are not citizens, saying states administer their own elections. The Daily Mail reports the subpoenas as part of a criminal investigation into illegal voting claims. Raw Story, citing the Times, reports that subpoenas were also delivered to at least one election worker at home.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. The Justice Department has issued grand jury subpoenas to California state and local election officials in an investigation of alleged noncitizen voting.

    Reported byFar Left1Left2Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    Raw Story
    Left
    The New York Times, CBS News
    Right
    Daily Mail

  2. CBS News reports the subpoenas were sent between October 21 and October 24.

    One outletCBS News· Left

  3. The federal government alleges that California may have as many as 20,000 non-citizens registered to vote.

    One outletCBS News· Left

  4. Federal judge David Carter in Los Angeles rejected the administration’s bid to separate mail ballots from roughly 20,000 people it says are not citizens.

    One outletCBS News· Left

  5. Three subpoenas seen by CBS News were directed to the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk and sought records of its correspondence with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter.

    One outletCBS News· Left

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • California has large numbers of non-citizens registered or voting illegally.

    The New York Times calls the claims unsubstantiated and Raw Story calls them unproven; CBS News attributes the figure of 20,000 registered non-citizens to the federal government; the Daily Mail reports the investigation as targeting illegal voting without assessing the claims.

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every outlet reports grand jury subpoenas to California election officials in a probe of alleged noncitizen voting. Left outlets stress federal pressure and an expanding probe, while the Daily Mail casts Trump as launching it to stop what it calls “rigged” midterms.

  • the left

    5 outlets

    Left headlines put federal pressure on officials and an expanding probe first; Far Left Raw Story adds that workers were served at home and calls the fraud claims unproven.

    Justice Dept. Loaded verb“Pressures”The verb implies the department intends to coerce election officials, which the reporting does not establish.More neutral: ExpandsDisagree with this highlight? California With Expanded Election Investigation
    The New York TimesLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    No coverage yet

    No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the right

    2 outlets

    Only one right-side outlet, the Daily Mail, covers it, and its headline frames Trump as launching a criminal investigation to stop what it calls “rigged” Democrat midterms.

    Trump launches criminal investigation into claims of illegal voting in California as president tries to stop Delegitimizing label“'rigged'”The word is the president’s characterization of polls and the midterms, presented without evidence in the excerpt.More neutral: claims of riggingThese are Donald Trump’s words. The outlet is reporting them.Disagree with this highlight? Democrat midterms wave
    Daily MailRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left2

    Pressureshas now followed one election worker home

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    PressuresMore neutral: Expands

    The verb implies the department intends to coerce election officials, which the reporting does not establish.

    Pressures California With Expanded Election Investigation

    Used byThe New York Times (Left)

  • Sensational language

    has now followed one election worker homeMore neutral: has now served one election worker at home

    The phrasing frames a lawful service of subpoenas as a menacing pursuit of an individual.

    …push to back up its unproven voter fraud claims in California has now followed one election worker home.

    Used byRaw Story (Far Left)

Words quoted from someone else (1)Hide the quoted words

Loaded words that outlets reported someone else saying. They show what was said, not how the outlet chose to say it.

  • Delegitimizing label

    Quoted

    'rigged'More neutral: claims of rigging

    The word is the president’s characterization of polls and the midterms, presented without evidence in the excerpt.

    …investigation into claims of illegal voting in California as president tries to stop 'rigged' Democrat midterms wave

    Quoted byDaily Mail (Right)

    These are Donald Trump’s words. The outlets are reporting them.

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

5 outlets

Leads with

  • federal pressure on state and local officials
  • expanding probe
  • fraud claims described as unproven

Leaves out

  • the president’s description of the midterms as rigged

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 5 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • CBS NewsLeft

    California officials face grand jury subpoenas as DOJ expands voting probe

    The Justice Department has issued grand jury subpoenas to California officials, escalating a dispute over allegations by the federal government that the state may have as many as 20,000 non-citizens registered to vote.

    Read at CBS News (opens in a new tab)
  • ABC NewsLeft

    DOJ issues grand jury subpoenas to election officials in California

    DOJ issues grand jury subpoenas to local election officials in California as part of its investigation into the state’s voter rolls, multiple sources told ABC News.

    Read at ABC News (opens in a new tab)
  • Raw StoryFar Left

    DOJ agents subpoena election workers at home amid widening probe: NYT

    The Trump administration's push to back up its unproven voter fraud claims in California Sensational language“has now followed one election worker home”The phrasing frames a lawful service of subpoenas as a menacing pursuit of an individual.More neutral: has now served one election worker at homeDisagree with this highlight?. The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into alleged noncitizen voting in the state and issued federal grand jury subpoenas to …

    Read at Raw Story (opens in a new tab)
  • HuffPostFar LeftAssociated Press report

    Justice Department Subpoenas California Officials In Escalation Of Its Scrutiny Of Local Elections

    The U.S. Justice Department has issued subpoenas to California officials in an escalation of its scrutiny of local election administration.

    Read at HuffPost (opens in a new tab)
  • The New York TimesLeft

    Justice Dept. Loaded verb“Pressures”The verb implies the department intends to coerce election officials, which the reporting does not establish.More neutral: ExpandsDisagree with this highlight? California With Expanded Election Investigation

    The department has issued grand jury subpoenas to local election officials as part of a widening effort to prove unsubstantiated claims about large numbers of illegal voters in the state.

    Read at The New York Times (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

2 outlets

Leads with

  • presidential action in launching the probe
  • illegal voting claims as the basis of the investigation
  • midterms described as rigged

Leaves out

  • the judge’s rejection of the administration’s ballot-separation bid

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 2 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • Washington ExaminerRight

    DOJ subpoenas California election officials in voter rolls investigation: Report

    The Department of Justice has reportedly subpoenaed California election officials who have refused to set aside mail-in ballots associated with up to 20,000 suspected noncitizens. …

    Read at Washington Examiner (opens in a new tab)
  • Daily MailRight

    Trump launches criminal investigation into claims of illegal voting in California as president tries to stop Delegitimizing label“'rigged'”The word is the president’s characterization of polls and the midterms, presented without evidence in the excerpt.More neutral: claims of riggingThese are Donald Trump’s words. The outlet is reporting them.Disagree with this highlight? Democrat midterms wave

    Local election officials were handed federal subpoenas demanding documents detailing their 'methods for screening for unlawful voting by aliens.'

    Read at Daily Mail (opens in a new tab)

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    The New York Times, Oct 29, 4:56 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    1 hr 7 min later

    Its first report, Oct 29, 6:03 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The New York TimesLeftOct 29, 4:56 PM EDT
  2. HuffPostFar LeftOct 29, 5:55 PM EDT
  3. Daily MailRightOct 29, 6:03 PM EDT
  4. Raw StoryFar LeftOct 29, 6:26 PM EDT
  5. ABC NewsLeftOct 29, 6:40 PM EDT
  6. CBS NewsLeftOct 29, 6:45 PM EDT
  7. Washington ExaminerRightOct 29, 7:16 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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