Election fraud probes in California announced by US Attorney amid rising tensions over slow vote count
Latest results on CA governor, LA mayor races
Final, official results may take days or weeks to solidify as mail-in ballots arriving up to seven days post-election continue to be processed and counted.
LOS ANGELES - First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced on Friday that his office has opened multiple election fraud investigations in coordination with the FBI.
The announcement comes immediately after President Donald Trump alleged, without providing evidence, that Democrats are attempting to steal California primary races due to slow ballot counting.
What we know:
On X, Essayli stated that "protecting the integrity of California's elections is a top priority for my office" and cited "serious structural vulnerabilities" in the state's universal vote-by-mail system.
Essayli confirmed his office is working with Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon to audit the state's voter rolls, a matter currently pending before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
While declining to provide specific details on the active probes, Essayli pointed to a case from last month when a Marina del Rey woman was charged with allegedly paying people, including unhoused individuals on Skid Row, to register to vote.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Woman charged with paying homeless people to register to vote
Brenda Lee "Anika" Brown Armstrong is charged with one felony count of paying another person to register to vote.
The federal intervention directly follows a Truth Social post from President Donald Trump, who wrote:
In response, California election officials strongly defended the integrity of the process.
Governor Gavin Newsom countered on X, writing, "Trump is lying about California again — time to take the phone away from grandpa and put him to sleep."
California Secretary of State Shirley Weber emphasized that state law purposely grants county officials up to 30 days to complete the official canvas to ensure exactness.
"Accuracy comes before speed," Weber said.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: About 713,000 ballots left to count in City of Industry
The county's centralized Ballot Processing Center in the City of Industry has been operating around the clock as workers verify signatures, process vote-by-mail ballots and tabulate results. The ongoing count has also sparked a political battle between President Donald Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom's office over the pace of vote counting.
As of Thursday, an estimated 713,180 ballots remained outstanding in Los Angeles County, with journalists noting dozens of empty workstations at the county's 144,000-square-foot ballot processing facility.
What we don't know:
The specific locations, scope, or targets of the "multiple" active federal election fraud investigations are unknown.
It's unclear whether the federal probes have uncovered any widespread voting regularities that could impact the outcomes of the gubernatorial or mayoral primaries.
The exact timeline for when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal will rule on the voter roll audit case is also unknown.
Timeline:
- Tuesday, June 2: California holds its primary elections; initial vote counts begin.
- Wednesday, June 3: Los Angeles County officials announce only 77,521 additional ballots processed, leaving over 713,000 outstanding.
- Thursday, June 4: President Trump publicly accuses Democrats of fraud; Secretary of State Shirley Weber reminds the public that officials have 30 days to complete the official canvas.
- Friday, June 5 (Morning): First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announces federal fraud probes; Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton schedules a press conference in San Mateo to propose an Emergency Election Support Corps.
- Monday, June 15: Under Assembly Bill 5, counties face a deadline to report most standard mail-in ballots.
- Friday, July 3: Hard deadline for county election officials to submit final results to the Secretary of State.
- Friday, July 10: The Secretary of State is scheduled to officially certify the primary election results.
What you can do:
California voters who want to track the status of the ongoing ballot counting or review official security guidelines can find detailed information by visiting the Secretary of State's official FAQ portal at dp.electionresults.sos.ca.gov/frequently-asked-questions.
The Source: This report is based on information provided by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, and Governor Gavin Newsom.