Feds Launch Election Fraud Probes in California Amid Vulnerabilities
Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have launched multiple election fraud investigations with the FBI while seeking to audit California's voter rolls amid concerns about the state's mail-in voting system.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli revealed Friday that his office is pursuing several probes while also working with the Department of Justice to conduct a full audit of California’s voter registration rolls, according to New York Post.
California’s election system has serious structural vulnerabilities, Essayli wrote on X, pointing to universal vote-by-mail combined with the absence of voter identification requirements as conditions that allow fraud to potentially go undetected and unpunished.
The federal prosecutor confirmed his office has multiple election fraud investigations currently underway in coordination with the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, stating his team will follow the evidence and prosecute any federal election law violations to the maximum extent possible.
State Accused of Stonewalling Verification Efforts
Essayli announced his office is working closely with Harmeet K. Dhillon, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, to audit California’s voter rolls comprehensively. The state has reportedly blocked every attempt to verify that only eligible U.S. citizens are registered to vote, according to the prosecutor.
The case is currently before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. Essayli made clear his office will not ignore these concerns and will investigate and prosecute accordingly, noting that every illegal vote cancels out a legal one.
Dhillon responded to Essayli’s announcement by questioning why California and numerous other states conceal their voter rolls from federal authorities while freely providing them to liberal activist organizations.
Trump Claims Democrats Attempting to Steal California Races
The announcement followed President Trump’s claim Thursday that Democrats were attempting to steal the California gubernatorial and Los Angeles mayoral primaries, as New York Post reports. Trump announced a probe into the state’s sluggish vote counting.
Essayli cited what he characterized as evidence of election fraud in California, referencing a May case in which a Los Angeles woman faced serious charges for allegedly paying homeless individuals on Skid Row to register to vote as part of a 20-year scheme connected to illegal petition signature gathering.
Vote Counting Grinds to Near Halt
Vote counting across Los Angeles and California has slowed dramatically this week. County officials announced Wednesday night that only 77,521 additional ballots had been processed since election night on June 2, with an estimated 713,180 ballots still outstanding.
When reporters visited the county’s 144,000-square-foot ballot processing facility Thursday, they observed dozens of empty work stations despite the massive backlog of uncounted ballots.
With information from New York Post
