Congressional Democrats are quick to dismiss President Donald Trump‘s allegations of widespread voter fraud, but they’re also taking seriously his comments that he wants to “nationalize” elections, impose strict proof-of-citizenship and voter ID requirements and do away with vote-by-mail ballots.
It’s why a dozen House Democrats — mostly from Southern California — gathered for a shadow hearing in Los Angeles on Tuesday to hear from election experts and voter rights advocates about whether California’s elections are secure and what more can be done to combat voter suppression and instill public confidence in the integrity of the state’s election system.
Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Redlands, speaks at a shadow hearing at the Japanese American National Museum on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. The hearing addressed the upcoming midterm elections. Democrats have accused President Donald Trump and Republicans of attempting to “rig” the elections and engage in voter suppression. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks at a shadow hearing at the Japanese American National Museum on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. The hearing addressed the upcoming midterm elections. Democrats have accused President Donald Trump and Republicans of attempting to “rig” the elections and engage in voter suppression. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
New York Rep. Joseph Morelle speaks at a shadow hearing at the Japanese American National Museum on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. The hearing addressed the upcoming midterm elections. Democrats have accused President Donald Trump and Republicans of attempting to “rig” the elections and engage in voter suppression. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Democratic Reps. Derek Tran, Gil Cisneros and Nanette Barragan attend a shadow hearing at the Japanese American National Museum on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. The hearing addressed the upcoming midterm elections. Democrats have accused President Donald Trump and Republicans of attempting to “rig” the elections and engage in voter suppression. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Democratic Reps. Judy Chu and Laura Friedman attend a shadow hearing at the Japanese American National Museum on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. The hearing addressed the upcoming midterm elections. Democrats have accused President Donald Trump and Republicans of attempting to “rig” the elections and engage in voter suppression. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Democratic Rep. Norma Torres attend a shadow hearing at the Japanese American National Museum on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. The hearing addressed the upcoming midterm elections. Democrats have accused President Donald Trump and Republicans of attempting to “rig” the elections and engage in voter suppression. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Democratic Rep. Linda Sanchez attend a shadow hearing at the Japanese American National Museum on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. The hearing addressed the upcoming midterm elections. Democrats have accused President Donald Trump and Republicans of attempting to “rig” the elections and engage in voter suppression. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Redlands, speaks at a shadow hearing at the Japanese American National Museum on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. The hearing addressed the upcoming midterm elections. Democrats have accused President Donald Trump and Republicans of attempting to “rig” the elections and engage in voter suppression. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Tuesday’s unofficial hearing was convened by New York Rep. Joe Morelle, the ranking member of the Committee on House Administration, which has oversight of federal elections.
It was held at the Japanese American National Museum, which is also home to the Democracy Center. The center’s stated mission includes exploring “the rights, freedoms and fragility of democracy.”
Morelle said the purpose of the hearings — another is scheduled for later this week in San Francisco — is to hear from election and voting rights experts and to build a roadmap for enacting election reforms after the midterms if Democrats regain control of the House.
Time and again, the panel of experts invited to provide testimony said voter fraud is exceedingly rare and that there is no evidence of widespread cheating.
Jenny Farrell, executive director of the League of Women Voters of California, also praised California’s election system, calling it secure, accessible and run by professionals who take their roles seriously.
“California’s elections are strong. We’re like the Dodgers of elections,” Farrell said.
“Our goal is not to fix a broken system. It is to protect a working one from unnecessary and harmful interference,” she said.
Congressional Democrats, during the hearing, accused Republicans of attempting to suppress voter turnout ahead of this year’s midterm elections.
“They’re trying to undermine one of the pillars of democracy, which is free and fair elections,” said former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco. “That’s what we want to protect.”
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson, meanwhile, maintained that election integrity is a priority for Trump.
“The American people sent him back to the White House because they overwhelmingly supported his commonsense election integrity agenda,” Jackson said in an emailed statement.
“The president will do everything in his power to defend the safety and security of American elections and to ensure that only American citizens are voting in them,” she continued, adding that Congress should pass Trump’s SAVE America Act, which would require proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote for federal elections.
And although the lawmakers at the hearing said they have faith in California’s election system, some raised concerns that the Trump administration may attempt to interfere with the elections, including by potentially sending U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to polling locations that could intimidate voters.
A White House spokesperson referred back to comments that press secretary Karoline Leavitt gave to reporters in February when she said she couldn’t guarantee that immigration agents wouldn’t be around voting locations, but she had not heard Trump discuss any formal plans to place ICE agents outside such sites.
During the special election on redistricting last year, the Trump administration sent federal monitors from the Department of Justice to select counties, including Los Angeles and Orange, to observe what was going on at voting locations.
Although nothing much came of those visits, it had state and local officials on high alert, just as when the FBI raided and seized ballots from Fulton County in Georgia in January.
And more recently, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who is running for governor, seized ballots from the local election office as part of an investigation his department launched after some county residents questioned if ballots were properly counted. That case is now tied up in court.
Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-San Pedro, said the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration enforcement efforts have caused U.S. citizens and people in the country legally to fear encounters with immigration agents. That could become an issue if ICE agents are sent to polling places.
But suggesting people vote by mail as an alternative to going to the polls isn’t always ideal, she said.
“I do appreciate the concept of pushing more people to vote by mail, but I have to tell you, Latino communities, we don’t like to vote by mail,” Barragán said. “We like to go to the polls. And so there’s got to be a way … to encourage people to do that. And some people also don’t trust the mail system right now.”
“While Republicans are expecting Democrats to just sit idly by … Democrats are getting out in the community, raising the alarm bells about the GOP’s efforts to rig these elections and fighting back in the courts, in Congress and in our communities,” Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of Redlands said.
As a result of concerns about potential election interference moving forward, the head of one nonpartisan group that advocates for voter rights and reforms to improve fair representation in the electoral process told lawmakers Tuesday that his organization plans to deploy people to act as ballot-counting monitors in the upcoming June primary election.
Darius Kemp, executive director of Common Cause California, said his organization has sent election monitors to polling places for decades, but this will be the first time it will roll out a pilot program focused on monitoring the ballot counting. Kemp said the decision stemmed from the situation in Riverside County and concerns that the Trump administration may send people in to seize ballots.
“Our members are worried that, ‘Oh, are my ballots going to be scooped up by some random sheriff or elected official who claims improprieties and fraud with no actual real evidence of improprieties or any fraud?’” Kemp said.
“We want to be responsive to these new challenges,” he said.
Tuesday’s shadow hearing — these are convened by a minority party in Congress to bring attention to an issue — was the first such gathering held by House Democrats on the topic. A second will be held in San Francisco on Thursday.