The measure has stalled in Congress due to fears that it will disenfranchise millions of voters and other concerns.<\/p>\n
That post came roughly 12 hours after Trump claimed, also on Truth Social<\/a>, that the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office in Los Angeles was investigating why it was taking the state so long to count outstanding ballots.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office declined to comment on the president\u2019s post.<\/p>\n As of Thursday afternoon, Los Angeles U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, a prolific X user<\/a>, had not posted anything about the election or the vote count.<\/p>\n Trump, for years,<\/a> has made accusations<\/a> about widespread voter fraud that have not been proven.<\/p>\n California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, on Thursday, defended the state in the face of the president\u2019s latest claims, although she did not mention Trump.<\/p>\n \u201cAccuracy comes before speed,\u201d Weber said in a statement. \u201cCalifornia is the nation\u2019s largest voting state, with millions of ballots to process and count. Taking the time to do this work correctly protects voters\u2019 rights and ensures the integrity of our elections.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Secretary of State\u2019s Office declined to comment on if the office was aware of a federal investigation.<\/p>\n Ahead of the primary, the Legislature passed and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new law making it a crime<\/a> for law enforcement officials to seize ballots, voter rolls or election technology without a court order. The bill applied to both federal and local officials. It\u2019s not clear to what extent it could actually block a federal investigation. The law requires the Attorney General\u2019s Office to give election officials guidance on how to respond to requests by law enforcement agencies to areas where ballots are cast, handled or counted.<\/p>\n The Attorney General\u2019s Office did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.<\/p>\n Jesse Salinas, Yolo County\u2019s registrar of voters and the current president of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials, said the state\u2019s elections are secure and transparent.<\/p>\n \u201cThe process is extended, by state law, to try to make it as accessible as possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Vote counting could continue for another 30 days<\/a>, which could mean more criticism<\/a> from the president is on the way as races for coveted congressional seats, the Los Angeles mayor job and to be California\u2019s next governor are still not finalized.<\/p>\n Steve Hilton, the Republican who is currently leading the vote count<\/a> for the gubernatorial race, has been on conservative newscasts since the election vehemently criticizing how long it takes California to count votes. But in one appearance Hilton said he saw no signs of vote manipulation. In an interview with conservative commentator Benny Johnson, Hilton said that if he saw some indication of latter ballot counts becoming suspiciously one-sided to Democrats he would sue. But, \u201cactually, so far we\u2019re not seeing any signs of that,\u201d Hilton said. \u201cIt is true that we get these late delivery deliveries of ballots because we\u2019ve got this unbelievable rule that ballots can arrive seven days after Election Day and still be counted.\u201d Hilton remained confident he would emerge from the primary with a spot in the general election, he said.<\/p>\n Trump in the Oval Office Thursday also claimed that mail-in ballots were being \u201cfound\u201d in California.<\/p>\n Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s Office took to X Thursday to directly respond to that comment<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are legitimate ballots post-marked by Election Day arriving to legitimate ballot counting centers \u2014 as has been standard practice for years and a process that takes place in numerous states regardless of the party in power,\u201d the office said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd yes, for the record,\u201d the Governor\u2019s Office said in another post Thursday, \u201cwe wish the votes were counted faster, too.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 4:26 PM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n Stephen Hobbs<\/a><\/p>\n The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n Stephen Hobbs is an enterprise reporter for The Sacramento Bee\u2019s Capitol Bureau. He has worked for newspapers in Colorado, Florida and South Carolina.\n <\/p>\n
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