Federal officials move into the ballot center
Federal attention has landed at Los Angeles County’s ballot processing center while California’s primary counting continues. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Renner was seen observing the site on Friday, and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said his office is working with the FBI and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division on election-related matters. In a state where ballot counting often moves at the speed of government paperwork, the arrival of federal prosecutors is the kind of plot twist that suggests someone, somewhere, thinks the printer may not be the only thing jammed.
Essayli says California has real vulnerabilities
Essayli said his office has multiple election fraud investigations underway with FBI Los Angeles and is also pursuing a comprehensive audit of California’s voter rolls with Harmeet Dhillon at the Civil Rights Division. He said the state’s universal vote-by-mail setup and lack of voter ID requirements create conditions where fraud can go undetected and unpunished. He also said state officials have resisted efforts to verify that only eligible U.S. citizens are registered. That kind of stonewalling is one of bureaucracy’s oldest hobbies, right after paperwork and putting everyone on hold.
Counting drags on and races stay unsettled
Ballot counting in Los Angeles and across California is still underway, with millions of ballots uncounted in some contests. Fox News reported that late-processed mail ballots were trending more toward Democrats, while the county center continues to verify signatures and allow a 10-day cure period for ballots with issues. In the governor’s race, Democrat Xavier Becerra advanced after the polls closed, while Republican Steve Hilton remained ahead of Democrat Tom Steyer in reported returns as the count stayed incomplete. In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass was projected to advance to the runoff, with other candidates still jockeying for position as the tally creeps along. Elections are supposed to settle arguments, but in California they often become a long-running subscription service.
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