California Election Fraud Investigations Following Trump’s Claims

A federal prosecutor in California announced on Friday that investigations related to the state’s recent elections have been initiated. This follows President Donald Trump’s unsupported claims of fraud. Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, shared on X—previously known as Twitter—that his office is pursuing ‘multiple election fraud investigations’ along with the FBI, yet disclosed no specifics.

We will follow the evidence wherever it leads and prosecute any violations of federal election law to the fullest extent, stated Essayli, who has critiqued California’s mail voting system. Trump has repeatedly targeted mail voting with claims of fraud.

The FBI has not yet commented on inquiries about election-related investigations in California. Concurrently with Essayli’s remarks, a federal prosecutor visited the ballot processing center in Los Angeles County, as confirmed by the L.A. County registrar’s office to NBC News.

The registrar’s office reported they were informed late Thursday about the arrival of a government attorney tasked with observing ballot processing activities. The individual arrived this morning, was provided an overview of the public observation program, and participated in a walkthrough of the ballot processing operations, a spokesperson from the registrar noted on Friday.

The spokesperson also emphasized that ballot processing is open to public observation, and election officials frequently host observers representing diverse interests such as politicians, advocacy groups, or the public.

The Justice Department has not responded to how the visit went or any queries about the prosecutor’s presence.

This news arises a day after Trump, without evidence, accused Democrats of ‘trying to steal’ the California primary elections held on Tuesday. On Truth Social, Trump claimed, There’s BIG cheating by the Dumocrats in California. Votes are all tied up. May not be in for weeks, questioning the vote-counting delay.

California’s vote-by-mail system typically takes several days before announcing a winner in competitive races. Ballots postmarked by election day and received within seven days post-election are eligible for counting, according to state laws. In 2022, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, was declared the winner eight days after the election. Bass, seeking another term, has advanced to the November election.

Mail ballots, often counted over multiple days, tend to favor Democratic candidates in the blue-leaning state. California’s system allows the top two candidates in the primary race—irrespective of party affiliation—to move forward to the general election in November.

With the prolonged counting for primary races statewide, Trump and his allies—including Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton—are escalating their criticism of the vote-counting process. As of Friday evening, NBC News projected Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra advancing to the general election, while Hilton and Democratic candidate Tom Steyer vie for second place.

In the Los Angeles mayor race, Trump-endorsed Spencer Pratt contests with Democrat Nithya Raman to face Bass in November.