(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Federal authorities in California are investigating multiple allegations of election fraud, one of the state’s top prosecutors announced Friday.
Bill Essayli, the de facto head of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, revealed the investigations on June 5, a day after President Donald Trump slammed the state’s slow ballot-counting process following the June 2 primary elections.
“Protecting the integrity of California’s elections is a top priority for my office,” Essayli wrote. He argued that California’s election system “has serious structural vulnerabilities” and said that the state’s universal vote-by-mail system and lack of voter ID laws create “conditions where fraud can go undetected and unpunished.”
Essayli did not specify which allegations are under investigation, but added that his office is coordinating with the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.
Protecting the integrity of California’s elections is a top priority for my office.
California’s election system has serious structural vulnerabilities. Universal vote-by-mail with no voter ID requirements creates conditions where fraud can go undetected and unpunished, eroding…
— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) June 5, 2026
His comments come as California has yet to declare winners in several statewide primary contests, including races for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, despite holding the elections on June 2.
Trump took issue with the delays on June 4 in a post shared via Truth Social.
“Watch California, everybody! Our Election process is as bad, or worse, than any Third World Country,” Trump wrote. “The biggest difference is, they count their Votes much faster — They don’t wait seven days to tell you who won, rigging the Election during each and every one of them. Americans are ashamed of what is happening!”
California is among the slowest states to complete vote counting, in part because it conducts large-scale vote-by-mail elections and accepts ballots received seven days after election day.
