First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli announced multiple investigations Friday into California’s elections as vote counts for key races continue to face major delays.
Essayli announced his office will be investigating election integrity in California as a “top priority” alongside the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Los Angeles, saying the current system is plagued with “serious structural vulnerabilities.” Essayli cited universal vote-by-mail and the lack of voter ID requirements as facilitating potential election fraud, ultimately “eroding public confidence.”
Both California’s gubernatorial and Los Angeles’ mayoral race are facing ongoing delays several days after Tuesday night’s primary. The vote count for the races has stagnated at roughly 60%, with both elections too close to call.
This is standard procedure for California elections, with votes often taking several days and even weeks to finalize.
“We will follow the evidence wherever it leads and prosecute any violations of federal election law to the fullest extent,” Essayli said in a post on X. (RELATED: ‘Here’s What The Bill Actually Says’: Jake Tapper Tells Alex Padilla That SAVE Act Allows Several Voter ID Options)
Essayli also said his office is working in coordination with Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who will assist in conducting an audit of California’s voter rolls.
“The state stonewalled every effort to verify that only eligible U.S. citizens are registered to vote,” Essayli said. “This case is now before the Ninth Court of Appeal. My office will not look the other way.”
“We will investigate and prosecute. Every legal vote deserves to be counted. Every illegal vote cancels one out.”
An assistant United States attorney, Robert Renner, is observing & asking questions inside L.A. County’s central processing center where hundreds-of-thousands of ballots remain to be counted. Also with him is a worker who identified as being with California AG Bonta’s office. pic.twitter.com/iVkEt5yvtx
— Matt Finn (@MattFinnFNC) June 5, 2026
Election integrity efforts have already been underway at the Department of Justice (DOJ), with Dhillon drawing attention to a major election fraud case in California just weeks earlier.
In this particular case, a California woman named Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong agreed to a plea deal after being charged with paying people, including homeless individuals on Skid Row, to register to vote.
“False registrations undermine Americans’ faith in elections – even more so when payoffs are involved,” Dhillon said of the charges. “This Justice Department is committed to ensuring that all U.S. elections are fair and free from illegal meddling – so that all Americans can accept the results with confidence.”
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