Trump alleges California rigging as mail votes swing results

Trump alleges – President Donald Trump accused California of “rigging” its election Wednesday as vote counts in the state’s governor and mayor races shifted, with Republican Steve Hilton and Spencer Pratt losing ground while Democratic candidates gained. His remarks also reig

For a third night, the numbers in California kept moving—and for Donald Trump, the delays and late vote totals were reason enough to declare fraud.

At a meandering Oval Office press encounter Wednesday. the president complained about how California’s votes were being counted and accused the state of “rigging” the election. He pointed to what he said were newly discovered mail ballots and framed the trend as evidence that Democrats were trying to cheat their way to victory.

His comments came as Democratic candidates continued to improve their position in the state’s vote counting and Republican candidates Steve Hilton and Spencer Pratt slipped as more ballots were tallied. Hilton had 27.5% of the vote. while Democratic candidates Xavier Becerra had 25.6% and Tom Steyer had 19.8%. with an estimated 56% of the vote counted at the time of the report. Becerra and Steyer kept cutting into Hilton’s lead as counting went on.

In the Los Angeles mayor’s race, the figures showed a similar tightening. Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass led with 35%. Spencer Pratt had 29.9%. progressive Los Angeles councilmember Nithya Raman had 22.8%. and the rest of the large field sat in the single digits. with an estimated 62% of the vote counted.

Trump’s version of the story was blunt: “You see what’s happening in California — they’re rigging the election.” He also said Democrats “found a lot of mail-in ballots last night” and argued that California voters were being delayed until late totals could change outcomes.

That allegation collided with how California’s system is designed to work. California election law provides for “jungle primaries,” where all candidates appear on a single ballot for each race. The top two vote-getters advance even if they are both from the same party. The practical result is that a party can be completely shut out of the general election if its candidates split the vote.

This year’s governor’s race is shaped by that structure. Current Gov. Gavin Newsom is term-limited, and among the candidates to succeed him are Democrats Tom Steyer and Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton, who was endorsed by Trump.

The Los Angeles mayor’s race is officially nonpartisan, but the campaign dynamics are not. Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and councilmember Nithya Raman are registered Democrats and run progressive platforms. Spencer Pratt. a former reality television star. is registered Republican and has drawn praise from conservative media after attacking Bass. Newsom. and other Democrats. including praise that Trump has expressly given him.

California’s timetable is also a key part of the tension. The primary election was held Tuesday. June 2. but the results were not yet known for many races as of publication. with the state typically taking weeks to certify elections—something that has drawn bipartisan criticism. Under state law. counties can process ballots up to 30 days after elections and can count late-arriving ballots as long as they were postmarked by Election Day and arrive by June 9.

The reporting cited a pattern that often matters in this phase of counting: Democratic candidates “typically” improve their numbers as votes are counted because votes cast on Election Day are almost entirely reported on election night. while votes counted later are predominantly mail ballots. The trend also reflects turnout differences. with Democrats “much more likely to vote by mail” and Republicans more likely to vote on Election Day. The story added that Democratic-aligned data from Political Data, Inc. suggested Democrats were returning ballots at a slower pace than in past elections. which could mean they were still holding a larger share of the votes to be counted.

Trump used that uncertainty as a launching pad for a broader grievance—mail voting, election rules, and the SAVE America Act, the bill he has supported and said requires “all voters” to show photo ID.

In his remarks, Trump insisted the legislation is simple. “Who could oppose it?” he asked, referring to the stalled bill in Congress. He said opponents claim it’s an 80-20 issue, but he called it “about 99-1,” adding, “and we’ll never find the one person.”

He also said the proposal would require proof of citizenship. claiming that he sees overwhelming backing: “So you have all voters. must show photo ID. identification. all voters must all show a little thing called proof of citizenship. ” he continued. again asserting it has “99% or even 100% support.”.

The reporting notes that Trump’s depiction is inaccurate—especially on the proof of citizenship requirement. The requirement has drawn concerns that it could be overly burdensome for people who changed their names, including many married women.

Polling numbers offered a different picture of support. A CBS/YouGov poll taken March 16 to 29 found that 80% favored requiring photo ID. while 20% opposed it. with a +/-2.2 percentage point margin of error. Among Republicans, 95% were in favor and 5% opposed. When asked about requiring proof of citizenship, support fell to 66% in favor and 34% opposed. Support for the SAVE America Act itself was only 28%. with 31% opposed. and among Republicans. the bill got 60% support. 6% opposed. and 6% unsure.

Another data point came from a Politico poll taken April 11 to 14 of 2,035 U.S. adults. That survey found only 52% support for the bill, with 18% opposed. Seventeen percent said neither and 13% didn’t know. The poll also found the bill did not reach 99% approval even among Trump voters: 75% support. 6% opposed. 12% neither. and 7% didn’t know. Its margin of error was +/-2.2 percentage points.

After bringing the conversation back to California. Trump complained about mail ballots and tied them directly to what he portrayed as election cheating. “And you have no mail-in ballots but we wanna be liberal. as they say. or we will say we want to be progressive. ” he said about other provisions of the bill. “So it’s no mail-in ballots.”.

Then he returned to the claim that California’s vote counting was being manipulated. “So we are being very progressive and we just don’t want cheating in our elections. And you see it happening in California. Those numbers are coming down rapidly. They found a lot of mail-in ballots last night, shockingly. So we don’t want that.”.

The central contradiction in Trump’s remarks is that California’s rules—designed around jungle primaries and allowing ballots to be processed for up to 30 days. with late-arriving ballots eligible if they were postmarked by Election Day and arrive by June 9—are exactly what produce the delayed totals he is pointing to as evidence of wrongdoing.

In the races he cited. the movement in the vote shares was also consistent with the timing differences between Election Day reporting and later mail ballot counts described in the reporting. Even as Trump framed the late phase as a sudden discovery that changes the story. the numbers he referenced were part of a process California law anticipates.

By Wednesday afternoon, the argument had shifted from the ballots to the allegations. Trump’s insistence that mail ballots were being used to “rig” outcomes set the tone for a dispute that is no longer just about California’s numbers—it’s also about whether the nation’s election rules should be enforced differently. and how quickly Americans should trust counts as they change.

Donald Trump California elections mail-in ballots SAVE America Act Gavin Newsom Tom Steyer Xavier Becerra Steve Hilton Karen Bass Nithya Raman Spencer Pratt Oval Office press conference jungle primary