Federal prosecutors recently issued subpoenas for millions of North Carolina voter records – just weeks before the midterm. This is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on unauthorized voting by noncitizens, something that has been widely discredited.

Issuing such an extensive subpoena could overwhelm the staff and budgets of small counties, hampering efforts to prepare for the November election. Further, these subpoenas raise privacy concerns, as the ballots of absentee voters could easily be traced to the voters’ identities.

Historically, voter fraud has rarely been prosecuted, particularly cases involving individual [...]