US: California Governor warns federal judges against potential seizure of ballots on October 31. California Governor Gavin Newsom sent a letter to the chief judges of the state's four federal district courts. He asked them to exercise extreme caution when considering potential requests for orders to seize ballots, election records, and voting equipment before the certification of the midterm election results on November 3. Attached to the letter is a guide from the Edley Center for Law and Democracy at the University of California, Berkeley, on evaluating requests to seize election materials. Newsom linked his warning to actions by the federal Justice Department as part of the investigation into the alleged participation of non-citizens in voting. In his view, federal authorities might move from civil lawsuits to criminal investigations and attempts to obtain material seizure warrants. At the same time, the governor noted separately that he is not aware of any requests for such warrants currently being considered in the courts. The letter was published on the website