DOJ Vows Action After California Blocks Federal Audit of Voter Rolls: ‘What Are They Afraid Of?’
The U.S. Department of Justice says it is taking legal action against california after the state blocked a federal review of its voter rolls. Bill Essayli, a First Assistant U.S. Attorney in California, claims California’s voter verification process is too lax-citing that first-time voters can register with a wide range of identification documents (such as gym or credit/debit cards) that he argues would seem unusual to most Americans. He also raises concerns about whether california promptly removes deceased voters, people who have moved, or individuals convicted of disqualifying felonies.
Essayli further alleges that California allows “ballot harvesting” with few restrictions, making it harder to track who ultimately receives, completes, and submits ballots. He says the DOJ has tried to audit the voter files for more than a year, and that California refused compliance by citing state privacy laws. The DOJ says it sued California in federal court and that the case is now before the Ninth Circuit, arguing that federal authority should override those privacy claims in this context.
These accusations are framed amid ongoing vote counting in California’s governor and Los Angeles mayor races, where late-arriving mail ballots have affected results. Republicans have alleged fraud, while others attribute counting issues to timing and ballot acceptance rules. Simultaneously occurring, the Supreme Court is reportedly petitioned to strike down a Mississippi law allowing ballots to be accepted several days after Election Day; the outcome could affect similar practices in other states.
The Department of Justice vowed over the weekend to take action against California after the blue state blocked a federal audit of its voter rolls.
In a Sunday social media post, Bill Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, detailed how lax the state’s voting verification system is.
“California Is Blocking a Federal Audit of Its Voter Rolls,” he wrote on X. “California 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).”
Essayli provided a link to the full list of acceptable forms of identification before questioning the integrity of California’s current election framework.
“This is permitted when a voter fails to provide a Social Security number or driver’s license at registration,” he explained. “Our office believes this policy deserves a closer look.
“We also have serious concerns about how California maintains its voter rolls,” Essayli continued.
“There are open questions about whether the state is promptly removing deceased voters, people who have moved, and individuals convicted of disqualifying felonies.”
“On top of that, California allows third parties to collect and turn in ballots on voters’ behalf (a practice known as ballot harvesting) with few restrictions. This makes it difficult to track who actually received, completed, and submitted each ballot.”
The U.S. attorney then stated that the DOJ has been “trying to audit” state voter rolls for “over a year.”
California Is Blocking a Federal Audit of Its Voter Rolls
California 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… pic.twitter.com/kOEOzpctmb— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) June 7, 2026
“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,” the post read.
“California refused to comply, claiming state privacy laws block the review, an argument that does not hold up because those laws don’t apply to the federal government in this context. We’ve 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?” Essayli asked.
This post came two days after Essayli called out California for having “serious structural vulnerabilities,” like universal vote-by-mail with no voter ID requirements, adding that this creates a perfect storm for fraudulent activity to go “undetected and unpunished.”
“My office will not look the other way,” he concluded. “We will investigate and prosecute. Every legal vote deserves to be counted. Every illegal vote cancels one out.”
Protecting the integrity of California’s elections is a top priority for my office.
California’s election system has serious structural vulnerabilities. Universal vote-by-mail with no voter ID requirements creates conditions where fraud can go undetected and unpunished, eroding…
— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) June 5, 2026
These statements come amid a chaotic vote count in California to determine the top two spots in the gubernatorial race and the Los Angeles mayoral contest.
Both races had Republican candidates surging in the polls, with GOP candidate Steve Hilton gaining an early lead in the governor’s race, while conservative candidate Spencer Pratt appeared to be a lock for second place in the mayoral match-up.
Those GOP candidates have lost ground, however, since the tallying slowed down. President Donald Trump has alleged fraud, while Democrats and media pundits have attributed the issues to late-arriving ballots, some of which are accepted several days after Election Day.
The Republican National Committee is currently petitioning the Supreme Court to strike down a Mississippi law that allows for ballots to be accepted five days after the polls close.
The conservative majority on the high court seems poised to strike down the provision, which would likely invalidate similar state laws across the country, especially in California.
But because the justices have not rendered a decision yet, California ballots continue to pour in, and thus far, they have favored Democratic candidates.
As of Monday evening, The Associated Press reported that Democrat Xavier Becerra had already advanced to the November runoff, with Hilton still in second place. Democrat Tom Steyer was gaining ground on Hilton, however, and was only behind by 3.4 percent with 24 percent of the vote still left to count.
In the mayoral race, Democrat incumbent Karen Bass advanced to November’s runoff, but Pratt, who was holding steady in second place, has now slipped to third.
He and Democrat Nithya Raman are separated by less than .5 percent, yet Pratt is still projected to lose when it’s all said and done.
California has a jungle primary system, meaning that the top two vote-getters will advance to the general election, despite party affiliation.
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