Federal Investigations Launched Over California Election Claims

Federal authorities are investigating claims related to recent elections in California, following assertions of fraud by former President Donald Trump. Bill Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, announced that his office, in collaboration with the FBI, is pursuing multiple election fraud investigations.

Essayli stated on social media platform X that the pursuit of evidence will continue, and any breaches of federal election law will be prosecuted rigorously. He has been critical of California’s mail voting system, which has been a focal point of Trump’s unfounded fraud claims. The FBI has yet to comment on the investigations.

Coinciding with Essayli’s announcement, a federal prosecutor from the U.S. Attorney’s office visited Los Angeles County’s ballot processing center. The L.A. County registrar’s office confirmed the visit, noting that the office was informed of the visit on Thursday. The prosecutor observed ballot processing operations, aligning with the usual practice of allowing public observation, including by politicians, advocacy groups, or the general public.

The Justice Department has not provided any further details about the prosecutor’s presence at the ballot center.

These developments follow Trump’s unsubstantiated claims made on Truth Social, accusing Democrats of attempting to “steal” the primary elections held on Tuesday. Trump questioned the delay in vote-counting, calling it “BIG cheating” by the Democrats, referred to pejoratively by him as “Dumocrats.”

California’s vote-by-mail system allows ballots postmarked on or before election day to be counted if they are received within seven days following the election. Typically, winners in closely contested races are announced several days post-election. For instance, in 2022, Democrat Karen Bass was declared Los Angeles Mayor eight days after election day. She is running for another term and is projected to compete in November’s election.

Mail-in ballots are generally seen to benefit Democratic candidates, particularly in California, which leans Democratic. The state’s primary system advances the top two candidates to the November general election, regardless of party affiliation. As primary race vote counts continue, Trump and his supporters, including Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, have amplified their disputes over the process.

NBC News has projected Democrat Xavier Becerra to advance in the gubernatorial race. Steve Hilton and Democratic candidate Tom Steyer are competing for the second position. In the upcoming Los Angeles mayoral election, Trump-supported candidate Spencer Pratt is set to face Democrat Nithya Raman, aiming to challenge Karen Bass in November.