DOJ sends prosecutor to observe LA ballot counting amid Trump’s baseless ‘cheating’ claims

By Tierney Sneed, Ethan Cohen, CNN

(CNN) — The Justice Department sent one of its attorneys to observe ballot processing in Los Angeles Friday morning, the county’s elections office told CNN, after President Donald Trump claimed earlier this week the US Attorney’s office there was investigating the vote counting.

A spokesperson for the county registrar-recorder said “our office was notified late yesterday that the U.S. Attorney’s Office would send an Assistant U.S. Attorney to the Ballot Processing Center to observe ballot processing activities.”

“The individual arrived this morning, was provided an overview of the public observation program, and participated in a walkthrough of the ballot processing operations,” the spokesperson, Mike Sanchez said in an email, noting that ballot processing in the county is open to public observation.

Trump has claimed repeatedly, without evidence, that the slow pace of the count from Tuesday’s primary was a sign of Democratic “cheating.” Several key races in the state have not been called, and California has long had a reputation for being slow to report the results. This is, in part, because a significant number of the total votes come in as mail ballots that are dropped off Election Day, according to the California Voter Foundation, a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve the election process.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

Earlier Friday, First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli — a Trump appointee who leads the Los Angeles-based US Attorney’s office — said his office had “multiple election fraud investigations underway” in a social media post that bashed California’s election system.

The Justice Department has a long tradition of sending monitors to election sites — including during primaries — for observation for the purpose of federal voting law enforcement, including compliance with laws requiring language assistance in certain jurisdictions and barring poll worker intimation.

The US attorneys office in LA confirmed that one of its lawyers was sent to observe the ballot counting, but did not respond to CNN’s inquiry about whether that move was connected to the fraud investigations Essayli touted on social media.

The county registrar-recorder’s office has defended its processes, writing on social media Thursday that its “dedicated staff is working hard to ensure that every vote is accurately processed and verified for counting.”

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office told CNN in a statement that it had “not received any complaints from the federal government regarding criminal misconduct related to vote-counting or fraud in the Los Angeles County primary election.”

Closely watched races

California this year has two marquee races — the governor’s race and the contest for Los Angeles mayor — that feature prominent Republicans. The top two finishers in each race will advance to the November general election.

Typically, as more votes are counted, Democratic candidates improve their standing compared to Republicans, and that pattern has been borne out this year. This happens because votes cast in person on Election Day are almost entirely reported on election night, while the votes counted later are predominately mail ballots. In recent years, Democrats have been much more likely to vote by mail while Republicans have preferred to vote in person on Election Day.

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber noted in a statement Thursday that state law gives election officials 30 days to complete the counting and certification process.

“(O)ur commitment is immediate: in California, every ballot is counted properly and every ballot is accounted for,” the statement said.

This story is developing and will be updated.

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