CALIFORNIA — House Democrats will hold shadow hearings in Los Angeles on Tuesday and San Francisco on Thursday to examine midterm election security in California. The hearings, organized in response to President Donald Trump's fraud allegations and threats to intervene in state elections, will feature testimony from voting and elections experts.

Rep. Joseph Morelle, the ranking Democrat on the House Administration Committee, and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi will lead the hearings. Rep. Pete Aguilar and other California Democrats are expected to attend. Republican members of Congress are not expected to participate.

"We will not let President Trump and House Republicans' efforts to take over our elections prevail. We're going to use every tool in our toolbox and that includes working with pro-democracy allies in communities across the country," Morelle said in a statement. He added, "I look forward to hearing about the work being done in California to protect democracy as we fight on the ground and in Congress."

Pelosi said in a statement, "At a time of rampant threats to our democratic system, we must strengthen and defend the integrity of our elections to reaffirm that our government is of, by, and for the people." Pelosi, 86, previously gave up her position in party leadership and does not currently hold any committee assignments. She announced in November that she will not seek reelection.

Experts from the UCLA Voting Rights Project, Loyola Law School, the League of Women Voters of California, Common Cause California, and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund are scheduled to participate in the hearings. House Democrats recently held shadow hearings in Los Angeles on Trump's immigration raids.

Trump has alleged for years, without evidence, that U.S. elections are undermined by widespread voter fraud, and he and his personal attorneys have repeatedly lost in court when arguing such claims. In public remarks, Trump said, "The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting." He also issued an executive order purporting to give federal agencies control over ballot processing by the U.S. Postal Service.

In September, Trump loyalists in the Justice Department sued California and other states for voter rolls and other sensitive voter information, and the courts rejected the suit. In January, the FBI raided and seized 2020 election records from an elections office in Fulton County, Georgia. Trump administration officials and allies refused to rule out sending immigration agents to polling locations during the midterm elections.

California and other states joined voting rights organizations in lawsuits to block Trump's attempts to intervene in state-run elections through recent federal orders on voter identification and proof of citizenship. California officials have noted that federal law gives states the right to administer elections as they see fit, and they have promised to fight attempts by the president or his administration to infringe on state election powers.