Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman continues to cut into former reality television star Spencer Pratt\u2019s lead in the race for second place in the Los Angeles mayor\u2019s race, as the Trump administration investigates what it characterizes as voter fraud in California\u2019s June 2 primary.<\/p>\n
An updated vote tally Saturday showed Pratt with 184,596 votes in Tuesday\u2019s primary, or 27.32%, with Raman further narrowing the gap with 177,102 votes, or 26.21%. Pratt held a 40,302-vote lead Wednesday, but that narrowed to 33,076 votes on Thursday, a little over 20,000 votes on Friday and 7,494 votes in Saturday evening\u2019s updated count.<\/p>\n
Mayor Karen Bass has secured a spot in the November runoff after receiving 235,180 votes as of Saturday, or 34.81%.<\/p>\n
Voting results typically take longer in California than in other states, as officials process a large number of mail-in ballots, which can be received as many as seven days after the election.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember everyone \u2014 we are still in the lead, and we\u2019ve got allllllll the way til July 6th to keep counting. They\u2019re not the only ones who know where to find votes,\u201d Pratt posted Sunday on X.<\/p>\n
The former reality TV star posted a photo Saturday from the 2001 film \u201cA Beautiful Mind,\u201d depicting Russell Crowe\u2019s mathematician character scrutinizing a complicated equation, along with the message, \u201cMe trying to figure out how votes get counted in LA.\u201d<\/p>\n
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli confirmed Friday that his office has \u201cmultiple\u201d probes underway into alleged voting fraud in the Golden State, one day after President Donald Trump alleged \u2014 without providing any examples or evidence \u2014 that Democrats were cheating in California\u2019s primary.<\/p>\n
\u201cCalifornia\u2019s election system has serious structural vulnerabilities,\u201d he wrote. \u201cUniversal vote-by-mail with no voter ID requirements creates conditions where fraud can go undetected and unpunished, eroding public confidence. Without commenting on any specific investigation, my office has multiple election fraud investigations underway in coordination with (the FBI). We will follow the evidence wherever it leads and prosecute any violations of federal election law to the fullest extent.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Essayli said California was \u201cblocking\u201d a federal audit of its voter rolls.<\/p>\n
\u201cCalifornia allows first-time voters to register using forms of ID that most Americans would find surprising, including: Gym membership card, employer ID card, credit or debit card, prescription drug label, insurance card (California provides free health coverage to undocumented immigrants),\u201d Essayli posted on X.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is permitted when a voter fails to provide a Social Security number or driver\u2019s license at registration. Our office believes this policy deserves a closer look. We also have serious concerns about how California maintains its voter rolls. There are open questions about whether the state is promptly removing deceased voters, people who have moved and individuals convicted of disqualifying felonies.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn top of that, California allows third parties to collect and turn in ballots on voters\u2019 behalf (a practice known as ballot harvesting) with few restrictions. This makes it difficult to track who actually received, completed, and submitted each ballot,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor over a year, the Department of Justice has been trying to audit California\u2019s voter rolls. Federal law gives the attorney general the authority to review state voter files and confirm that only eligible U.S. citizens are voting in federal elections. \u2026 California refused to comply, claiming state privacy laws block the review, an argument that does not hold up because those laws don\u2019t apply to the federal government in this context. We\u2019ve sued California in federal court, and the case is before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. If California genuinely wants voters to trust its elections, it should open its records, not fight to keep them closed. What are they afraid of?\u201d<\/p>\n