Federal prosecutors in California say they have opened multiple investigations tied to the state’s recent primaries after former President Donald Trump made unproven fraud allegations. Bill Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, said his office and the FBI are pursuing "multiple election fraud investigations." A U.S. Attorney’s Office representative also observed Los Angeles County ballot processing; county officials noted that public observation is routine. California’s vote-by-mail rules allow ballots postmarked by election day to be received up to seven days later, which can delay final results.
DOJ Opens Multiple Probes Into California Elections After Trump’s Unsubstantiated Claims
Voters cast their ballots at a polling location inside Metro Headquarters during a primary election in Los Angeles on Tuesday. (Kyle Grillot / Bloomberg via Getty Images)(Kyle Grillot)
A federal prosecutor in California announced that the Justice Department has opened multiple investigations related to the state’s recent primary elections after former President Donald Trump made unproven allegations of fraud.
Bill Essayli, the First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, wrote on X that his office is pursuing "multiple election fraud investigations" in cooperation with the FBI, though he did not provide further details about the scope or targets of those inquiries. "We will follow the evidence wherever it leads and prosecute any violations of federal election law to the fullest extent," Essayli said.
The FBI and the Justice Department did not immediately comment on the investigations when asked.
Separately, a representative of the U.S. Attorney’s Office visited the Los Angeles County ballot processing center after county election officials said they were notified late Thursday that a government attorney would observe ballot processing activities. A Los Angeles County registrar spokesperson said the visitor was given an overview of the public observation program and took part in a walkthrough of the processing operations.
County officials emphasized that ballot processing in Los Angeles is open to public observation and that election staff regularly host observers from across the political spectrum, including politicians, advocacy groups and members of the public.
On Truth Social, Trump alleged: "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???" These claims have not been substantiated.
Under California law, ballots postmarked on or before election day and received within seven calendar days after the election are eligible to be counted. Because many ballots are cast by mail and tallied over several days, it can take days or longer to finalize results in competitive contests — a process that has in recent years tended to benefit Democratic candidates in the state.
For context, in 2022 Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was not declared the winner until eight days after election day. This year Bass has advanced to the November runoff, NBC News projects. NBC also projected that former U.S. Attorney General Xavier Becerra will advance in the gubernatorial primary, with Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Tom Steyer competing for the second spot. In the Los Angeles mayoral race, Trump-endorsed Spencer Pratt and Democrat Nithya Raman are vying to face Bass in November.
Election officials and prosecutors said they will follow legal processes and evidence. The announcement of multiple investigations does not equate to findings of widespread fraud — it indicates that authorities are examining potential violations as part of routine enforcement of federal election law.
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