Federal prosecutors in the Central District of California say they are working with the FBI on multiple election-fraud investigations and a voter-roll audit after President Donald Trump accused Democrats of “cheating” in California’s gubernatorial primary—rema
By the time the ballot totals began to crawl in California’s statewide primary, President Donald Trump had already fired off a fresh line of attack—one that cast election administration in the Democratic-led state as something closer to fraud than delay.
Hours later, the response shifted from politics to law.
In a Friday statement, Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California. said his office has “multiple election fraud investigations” underway in coordination with the FBI in Los Angeles. “Without commenting on any specific investigation, my office has multiple election fraud investigations underway in coordination with @FBILosAngeles. We will follow the evidence wherever it leads and prosecute any violations of federal election law to the fullest extent. ” he wrote on X.
Essayli also said the district office is working with Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon to “conduct a comprehensive audit of California’s voter rolls.” The post added that “The state has stonewalled every effort to verify that only eligible U.S. citizens are registered to vote. This case is now before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal,” according to his statement.
The federal move came after Trump used Truth Social in a series of posts early Thursday morning to accuse Democrats of trying to “steal” California’s primary gubernatorial election. He also alleged that the vote-counting delay meant something sinister was underway. writing: “There’s BIG cheating by the Dumocrats in California. Votes are all tied up. May not be in for weeks. Under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Why the vote counting DELAY???”.
Trump’s charge landed as California officials continued to manage a process that—under the state’s election rhythm and mail-heavy voting system—often stretches beyond Election Night.
California Secretary of State Shirley Weber had warned in a statement Tuesday that the outcome would take time. “On Election Night, we will have a good picture of the outcome of most contests, but it will take weeks to know the final results. This is normal,” she said.
John Fortier. a senior fellow focused on election issues at the American Enterprise Institute. pushed back against the broad fraud framing tied to the delay. “I don’t think there’s any evidence that there is anything going on in that delayed period that would lead us to believe that there’s any votes that are being counted that are not valid votes. ” he said. Fortier added that California has dealt with skepticism before and pointed to a practical reform—adopting ballot deadlines similar to Colorado. where the ballot must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day—while stressing that political arguments should not automatically become fraud allegations without “very concrete evidence.”.
For California’s political world, the investigation announcement landed alongside still-unresolved races. Contests for the high-stakes gubernatorial race and the Los Angeles mayoral race remained unfinished as results continued to trickle in.
By Friday afternoon, 60% of the votes had been counted in the governor’s race. Steve Hilton, the Republican gubernatorial candidate leading by a narrow margin, and Democrat Xavier Becerra each claimed roughly 27% and 26% of the vote, respectively.
Even as official counts continued, Hilton was using the delay as fuel. On Friday, he criticized an update from Ventura County that estimated roughly 86,000 ballots remain to be counted. “This is COMPLETELY unacceptable. There must be accountability for all the officials responsible for California’s election shambles,” Hilton wrote on X.
Other Republicans who are seeking reelection did not publicly mirror Trump’s accusation or the federal investigation announcement. Campaign accounts for several candidates—including Reps. Young Kim. Ken Calvert. and David Valadao. who will advance to the November election—did not comment on Trump’s voter-fraud allegation or the announcement of an investigation. and the lawmakers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. California Republican Party Chair Corrin Rankin also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The moment is sharp: Trump’s claims framed the delay as evidence of “cheating. ” while state officials had already told voters the timeline could take weeks. Now federal prosecutors are saying they have moved to investigate election-fraud allegations and to press for a “comprehensive audit” of California’s voter rolls—while the dispute over verification of voter eligibility sits before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal.
California primary election fraud probe Bill Essayli FBI Los Angeles Harmeet Dhillon voter rolls audit Ninth Circuit Shirley Weber Steve Hilton Xavier Becerra Trump cheating claims