Why It Matters
California is becoming a focal point in a national battle over election administration, as House Democrats organize unofficial hearings to push back against the Trump administration’s escalating scrutiny of state voting systems. The hearings come ahead of the 2026 midterm elections and raise significant questions about federal versus state control over ballot processes.
The events are taking place outside of Congress’s formal committee structure, meaning they carry no legislative weight — but Democrats say they serve as a platform for election officials and experts to make their case publicly.
What Happened
House Democrats announced plans to hold two “shadow hearings” in California — one in Los Angeles on Tuesday and one in San Francisco on Thursday — focused on election security ahead of the upcoming midterms. The hearings are being led by Rep. Joseph Morelle of New York, the ranking Democrat on the House Administration Committee, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the former House Speaker and longtime San Francisco congresswoman.
The hearings will feature testimony from voting and elections experts. Rep. Pete Aguilar of Redlands, chair of the Democratic Caucus, and other California Democrats are also expected to attend. Republican members of Congress are not expected to be present.
Such shadow hearings are not official congressional proceedings. They are organized by minority party members to draw public attention to topics they say Republican-led committees have declined to address formally in Washington. Democrats held similar unofficial hearings recently in Los Angeles regarding the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations.
Pelosi, 86, who announced in November that she will not seek reelection and no longer holds committee assignments, will participate in what organizers say will be among her first high-profile hearings in some time.
By the Numbers
- 2 hearings are scheduled — Los Angeles on Tuesday and San Francisco on Thursday.
- Nearly 90% of California voters cast ballots by mail in last year’s special election on Proposition 50, the state’s mid-decade redistricting measure.
- 86 — the age of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who is leading the hearings alongside Rep. Morelle.
- 15 — the number of locations where President Trump said Republicans should “take over the voting,” citing what he called irregularities in “crooked states.”
- September 2025 — when Trump-aligned Justice Department officials sued California and other states over voter rolls and sensitive voter data, a legal effort later blocked by courts.
Zoom Out
The California hearings are part of a broader national effort by Democrats to counter what they describe as federal encroachment on state-run election systems. President Trump has for years alleged, without producing evidence that has survived court scrutiny, that widespread voter fraud cost him the 2020 election. Federal courts repeatedly rejected those claims during and after the 2020 election cycle.
Since returning to the White House in January 2025, the Trump administration has taken several concrete steps targeting election administration. In January, the FBI seized 2020 election records from a Fulton County, Georgia elections office. This week, Trump signed an executive order purporting to give federal agencies oversight over ballot processing by the U.S. Postal Service. Administration officials have also declined to rule out deploying immigration agents to polling locations during the midterms.
California has been a frequent target of administration legal actions. The Justice Department’s attempt to access state voter rolls was one of several clashes between federal officials and California’s Democratic-led state government, which has resisted numerous federal directives.
Trump has characterized his push to end voting by mail and increase voter identification requirements as common-sense election integrity measures. Supporters argue such steps would increase public confidence in outcomes. Critics, including many elections law experts, contend that strict ID mandates would disenfranchise eligible voters — including citizens who changed their names after marriage and lack matching documentation.
What’s Next
The Los Angeles hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, with the San Francisco hearing to follow on Thursday. Democratic organizers say the events are intended to build a public record of expert testimony defending California’s election systems and to lay groundwork for potential legislative and legal responses ahead of the midterms.
Separately, Sen. Alex Padilla has already sent a letter to Senate colleagues warning that any executive order from President Trump seeking direct control over election administration would be, in Padilla’s characterization, unlawful. Courts will likely remain central to any resolution of the federal-state conflict over election authority as November approaches.