California Election Bombshell - The United States Department of Justice Is Now Investigating The Situation, According to Trump
Los Angeles, California - June 5, 2026
President Trump Accuses Democrats of Election Interference in California Amid Delayed Vote Counting
President Donald Trump posted multiple statements on Truth Social on Thursday criticizing the pace of vote counting in California’s June 2 primary elections. He accused Democrats of attempting to influence the outcomes of the gubernatorial primary and the Los Angeles mayoral primary through large numbers of late mail-in ballots.
Trump stated that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles is investigating the delays in vote counting. He called for Republicans to support the Save America Act, which would require voters to present photo identification, provide proof of U.S. citizenship, impose restrictions on mail-in ballots, prohibit men from competing in women’s sports, and ban transgender surgeries for minors.
State election officials have indicated that processing the remaining mail-in ballots could take additional weeks. Los Angeles County alone has reported more than 700,000 ballots still unprocessed as of recent updates.
Response from California Officials
Governor Gavin Newsom’s office posted an explainer video featuring CNN correspondent Elex Michaelson. The video defended California’s counting process as consistent with state law and suggested that faster counting in states such as Florida and Texas prioritizes speed over giving voters additional time to decide.
Newsom’s office stated that it wishes the votes were counted faster while pushing back against claims of misinformation regarding the process.
Los Angeles Mayoral Race Developments
In the Los Angeles mayoral primary, incumbent Democrat Karen Bass leads with approximately 35 percent of the vote based on the most recent tallies. Independent candidate Spencer Pratt holds second place at roughly 30 percent, while Democratic City Council member Nithya Raman trails in third at about 23 percent.
Late batches of mail-in ballots have continued to be processed in the days following the election. Raman has seen gains from these additional ballots, and prediction markets have shifted in her favor. Bass did not reach the 51 percent threshold required to avoid a runoff, setting up a likely November contest between Bass and Pratt.
Broader Context on California Election System
Critics of California’s election procedures have pointed to changes implemented since 2016, including expanded use of mail-in ballots that can be counted after Election Day. These procedures have resulted in slower final results compared with many other states that held primaries on the same day.
New Jersey has reported approximately 93 percent of ballots counted, while New Mexico and Montana are nearing 98 percent completion. Observers have noted that the extended timeline in California has raised questions about the transparency and timeliness of the process.
President Trump’s statements have intensified partisan debate over the counting procedures and the potential impact on closely contested races. State officials maintain that the process follows established legal requirements, while critics argue that the delays create opportunities for questions about the integrity of the final results.
Nearly 150,000 California Mail Ballots Rejected In Primary
California election officials are examining why nearly 150,000 mail-in ballots were rejected during the state’s June primary, with late-arriving ballots accounting for most of the increase.
The higher rejection rate comes despite years of election law changes designed to make voting more accessible and ensure more ballots are ultimately counted.
According to data compiled by the California Secretary of State’s office, 148,241 mail-in ballots were rejected during the June primary, representing 1.73% of all mail ballots returned.
That marks an increase from the 2024 primary, when 108,982 ballots were rejected, or 1.56% of all mail ballots cast.
The largest reason for rejection was ballots arriving too late to qualify under California law.
State data shows that 93,479 ballots were rejected because they failed to meet the state’s deadline requirements.
California allows mail ballots to arrive up to seven days after Election Day, provided they are postmarked on or before Election Day.
Voting experts believe many of the rejected ballots received postmarks dated after Election Day, making them ineligible to be counted even if they arrived within the seven-day grace period.
Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, said the timing of postal processing appears to be a significant concern.
“Ballots rejected due to lateness are caused primarily to being postmarked too late to count, not because they arrived too late to count,” Alexander said.
Election experts have questioned whether recent operational changes within the U.S. Postal Service may be contributing to delayed postmarks.
Earlier this year, a group of mostly Democratic U.S. senators wrote to the Postal Service expressing concern that mail-processing changes could affect ballot handling during federal elections.
Updated Postal Service procedures mean postmarks may reflect when mail is processed at regional facilities rather than when it first enters the mail system.
Because processing centers have been consolidated in some areas, election officials have warned that postmark timing could be affected.
Before the June primary, California election officials encouraged voters to mail ballots as early as possible because of potential postal delays.
The June election also featured a highly competitive race for governor, which some experts believe encouraged many voters to wait until the final days before casting ballots.
In addition to late-arriving ballots, approximately 44,000 ballots were rejected because election officials determined the voter’s signature did not match the signature on file.
Another 8,300 ballots were rejected because the return envelope did not contain a signature.
State records also show that 743 ballots were rejected because those voters had already cast another ballot.
Other rejected ballots involved missing ballots inside return envelopes or multiple ballots submitted in a single envelope.
The highest rejection rate in the state occurred in Tulare County, where 3.52% of returned mail ballots were rejected.
Alpine County and Merced County followed closely, each recording rejection rates of 3.36%.
California has frequently faced criticism for taking weeks to complete vote counting after major elections, largely because state law permits ballots meeting certain requirements to continue arriving after Election Day.
Following the June primary, President Donald Trump again criticized California’s election system, while the Department of Justice opened an investigation into election administration in Los Angeles County.
Election experts emphasize that the increase in rejected ballots should not be interpreted as evidence of widespread voter fraud.
A 2025 report by the Brookings Institution found documented cases of mail ballot fraud remained extremely rare, estimating roughly four cases for every 10 million mail ballots cast, The Associated Press reported.
State officials have not identified evidence of widespread fraud connected to the June primary, but the increase in rejected ballots is expected to receive additional scrutiny as election administrators evaluate whether changes in postal operations, voter behavior or election procedures contributed to the higher rejection rate.
