PREPARING TO SEND ELECTION MONITORS TO SOME CALIFORNIA COUNTIES FOR NEXT WEEK’S SPECIAL ELECTION. NOW, IN RESPONSE, CALIFORNIA’S ATTORNEY GENERAL SAYS THE STATE IS TAKING ACTION. KCRA THREE POLITICAL DIRECTOR ASHLEY ZAVALA IS HERE WITH WHAT PEOPLE CAN EXPECT AT THE POLLS. ASHLEY. CURTIS AND LISA. CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL ROB BONTA SAID THE STATE WILL HAVE ITS OWN OBSERVERS KEEPING AN EYE ON THE OBSERVERS WITH THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. THIS ALL COMES AFTER THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ANNOUNCED LAST WEEK THAT IT WILL SEND ELECTION MONITORS TO FIVE COUNTIES IN CALIFORNIA. NOT IN OUR AREA, BUT KERN, FRESNO, RIVERSIDE, LOS ANGELES AND ORANGE COUNTIES. ON A VIRTUAL PRESS CONFERENCE WITH VOTING RIGHTS ADVOCATES TODAY, ATTORNEY GENERAL ROB BONTA ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE SENDING THESE MONITORS WOULD ACTUALLY BE STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE, BUT SAID THAT THESE ARE NOT NORMAL TIMES. HE SUGGESTED THAT THIS IS AN INTIMIDATION TACTIC BY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO USE AGAINST, FOR EXAMPLE, IMMIGRANTS WHO ARE LAWFULLY ABLE TO VOTE. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL COULD NOT SAY WHO THE STATE IS USING SPECIFICALLY TO KEEP AN EYE ON THOSE MONITORS, NOTING IT’S TO BE DETERMINED, BUT IT COULD BE FROM HIS OFFICE THE SECRETARY OF STATE OR COUNTY REGISTRAR OF VOTERS IN THOSE AREAS, THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S MONITORS ARE COMING AT THE REQUEST OF THE CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN PARTY, WHO POINTED TO SPECIFIC ISSUES IN THOSE COUNTIES THAT I MENTIONED. THAT INCLUDES DUPLICATE BALLOTS BEING SENT IN RIVERSIDE PAST INCONSISTENCIES IN THE BALLOT CURING DEADLINE IN FRESNO, AND CONCERNS WITH VOTER ROLLS AND LIST MAINTENANCE IN ORANGE AND LOS ANGELES COUNTIES. I ASKED BONTA ABOUT THESE CONCERNS SPECIFICALLY. HERE’S PART OF THAT CONVERSATION. ARE THOSE, I ISSUES THAT AREN’T DON’T DON’T REQUIRE THE MONITORS IN YOUR PERSPECTIVE? I DON’T THINK THEY REQUIRE THE MONITORS. AND LOOK WHO’S SAYING THIS. IT’S THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. IT’S A PARTY THAT HAS SUBSCRIBED TO A CONSPIRACY ABOUT THE 2020 ELECTIONS WITH NO PROOF, WITH NO EVIDENCE, WITH NO FACTS, WITH NO DATA TO BACK IT. TRUMP CONTINUES TO SAY THAT HE WON THE 2020 ELECTION. IT’S INSANE. IT IS CRAZY. IT IS NOT TRUE. AND IT IS DANGEROUS. AND SO, OF COURSE, PERFECTION IS OUR GOAL. COMPLETE ACCURACY IN EVERY SINGLE WAY. AND AND CONFIDENCE IS IMPORTANT. BUT THE THE FEIGNED WORRY BY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, I DON’T THINK IS IS A GOOD SOURCE OF. OF TRUE RAISING OF CONCERNS AND AND SURFACING OF CONCERNS ABOUT THE ELECTIONS. BUT THE ISSUES THAT THEY’RE RAISED, I MEAN, IF, IF NOT THE FEDERAL ELECTION MONITORS, I MEAN, WOULD YOUR OFFICE BE WILLING TO TAKE ON OR TAKE A LOOK AT THESE ISSUES? I MEAN, HOW DO THOSE ISSUES AND HOW IS PERFECTIONISM ESSENTIALLY REACHED THEN? IF NOT WITH OUTSIDE OVERSIGHT? THERE DEFINITELY NEEDS TO BE ACCOUNTABILITY IN EVERYTHING WE’RE HOLDING THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACCOUNTABLE EACH AND EVERY TIME IT BREAKS THE LAW. AND SO, YOU KNOW, EACH OF THE ISSUES THAT YOU’VE RAISED, I’M NOT SURE THAT THEY’RE NOT ALREADY ADDRESSED. I’M NOT SURE WHAT THE THE UNDERLYING MERITS ORIGINALLY WERE OR NOT. WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT THAT. AND THE SECRETARY OF STATE, OF COURSE, HAS A ROLE. I HAVE A ROLE. I ALSO REACHED OUT TO CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN PARTY CHAIRWOMAN CORINNE RANKIN, AND THE PERSON SHE SENT THAT LETTER TO ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR THE DOJ’S CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION, I SHOULD SAY HARMEET DHILLON, FOR AN INTERVIEW. NEITHER WERE AVAILABLE TODAY. WE DO NOT HAVE ANY SPECIFICS ON WHEN THOSE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MONITORS ARE SHOWING UP AND WHAT EXACTLY THE
Attorney General Rob Bonta says California will have its own observers on Trump’s election monitors
Updated: 4:36 PM PDT Oct 27, 2025
As the Trump administration’s Department of Justice prepares to send election monitors to California for next week’s election, California’s attorney general on Monday said the state will have its own observers keeping an eye on them. “Of course, there will be observers of the so-called election monitors that the DOJ is sending,” Bonta told reporters during a virtual news conference. “They will not be allowed to interfere in ways that the law prohibits.” Bonta acknowledged the DOJ’s move is standard operating procedure when they have a basis or historical reason but added, “these are not normal times.” Bonta suggested the DOJ’s election monitors could be used to intimidate voters, especially immigrants, as California decides whether to approve Proposition 50. The measure attempts to change California’s congressional district map to favor more Democrats in future elections. The attorney general could not say who exactly would monitor the DOJ observers on behalf of the state, but said it was to be determined and could include his office, the Secretary of State’s office and registrar of voters in the counties that are expected to have them. “I can’t name names but there is going to be oversight and accountability,” Bonta said. The update comes days after the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would send election observers to California and New Jersey. The decision to send them to California comes after the California Republican Party requested them in Kern, Fresno, Riverside, Los Angeles and Orange counties. In a letter dated Oct. 20 to the Department of Justice’s Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon, California Republican Party Chairwoman Corrin Rankin pointed to issues in each county. “Riverside County has an ongoing problem of sending duplicate ballots to voters and recently had to fire its Registrar of Voters. In Fresno County, in 2022, the County closed the ballot cure deadline after telling some voters it would be open later, providing a moving target that sapped confidence in the fairness of the election,” Rankin wrote. “Justified concerns with Orange and Los Angeles Counties arise from their voter list maintenance practices—Orange County is currently in litigation with the Department of Justice over its voter list and there are questions about the accuracy of the voter rolls in Los Angeles County, as well as that county’s compliance with a settlement reached with Judicial Watch.” Neither Rankin nor Dhillon were available for an interview on Monday. When KCRA 3 asked Bonta to respond to the claims, he said “I don’t think they require the monitors. Look who is saying this: it’s the Republican Party, which was prescribed to a conspiracy about the 2020 elections,” Bonta said. On the county issues Bonta said, “they are not perfect, of course perfection is our goal, complete accuracy in every way and confidence is important.” When KCRA 3 asked if his office or some other outside agency should provide oversight into the issues raised in the letter, Bonta said in part, “of course there should be oversight and quality control and aspiration toward perfection.” He said his office could take a look and noted the Secretary of State’s office has a role to play but noted there is no widespread election fraud. Learn more about Prop 50 from our previous coverage below:How a USPS mail service change may delay ballot returns for rural votersEverything to know about Prop 50Who are the 5 California Republicans who could lose their congressional seat if Prop 50 passes?Get the Facts: Why do mail-in ballot envelopes have holes for Prop 50 special election?What is Prop 50? Arguments for and against the California redistricting measureWhat is gerrymandering? History of the term and how it relates to California’s Prop 50In-person early voting begins in California for special election on Proposition 50 How to track your ballot for the California Prop 50 special election See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channelKCRA 3 Political Director Ashley Zavala reports in depth coverage of California redistricting efforts and other top policy issues on “California Politics 360.” Get informed with the latest updates about Prop 50 and more topics before Election Day on Sundays at 8:30 a.m. on KCRA 3.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
As the Trump administration’s Department of Justice prepares to send election monitors to California for next week’s election, California’s attorney general on Monday said the state will have its own observers keeping an eye on them.
“Of course, there will be observers of the so-called election monitors that the DOJ is sending,” Bonta told reporters during a virtual news conference. “They will not be allowed to interfere in ways that the law prohibits.”
Bonta acknowledged the DOJ’s move is standard operating procedure when they have a basis or historical reason but added, “these are not normal times.” Bonta suggested the DOJ’s election monitors could be used to intimidate voters, especially immigrants, as California decides whether to approve Proposition 50. The measure attempts to change California’s congressional district map to favor more Democrats in future elections.
The attorney general could not say who exactly would monitor the DOJ observers on behalf of the state, but said it was to be determined and could include his office, the Secretary of State’s office and registrar of voters in the counties that are expected to have them.
“I can’t name names but there is going to be oversight and accountability,” Bonta said.
The update comes days after the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would send election observers to California and New Jersey. The decision to send them to California comes after the California Republican Party requested them in Kern, Fresno, Riverside, Los Angeles and Orange counties.
In a letter dated Oct. 20 to the Department of Justice’s Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon, California Republican Party Chairwoman Corrin Rankin pointed to issues in each county.
“Riverside County has an ongoing problem of sending duplicate ballots to voters and recently had to fire its Registrar of Voters. In Fresno County, in 2022, the County closed the ballot cure deadline after telling some voters it would be open later, providing a moving target that sapped confidence in the fairness of the election,” Rankin wrote. “Justified concerns with Orange and Los Angeles Counties arise from their voter list maintenance practices—Orange County is currently in litigation with the Department of Justice over its voter list and there are questions about the accuracy of the voter rolls in Los Angeles County, as well as that county’s compliance with a settlement reached with Judicial Watch.”
Neither Rankin nor Dhillon were available for an interview on Monday.
When KCRA 3 asked Bonta to respond to the claims, he said “I don’t think they require the monitors. Look who is saying this: it’s the Republican Party, which was prescribed to a conspiracy about the 2020 elections,” Bonta said.
On the county issues Bonta said, “they are not perfect, of course perfection is our goal, complete accuracy in every way and confidence is important.”
When KCRA 3 asked if his office or some other outside agency should provide oversight into the issues raised in the letter, Bonta said in part, “of course there should be oversight and quality control and aspiration toward perfection.”
He said his office could take a look and noted the Secretary of State’s office has a role to play but noted there is no widespread election fraud.
Learn more about Prop 50 from our previous coverage below:
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
KCRA 3 Political Director Ashley Zavala reports in depth coverage of California redistricting efforts and other top policy issues on “California Politics 360.” Get informed with the latest updates about Prop 50 and more topics before Election Day on Sundays at 8:30 a.m. on KCRA 3.