How California’s election procedures turn early leads into late losses

Trump prosecutor vows CA election charges within 'two months' — as he begs for evidence

The federal prosecutor leading California's election fraud investigations appeared on Glenn Beck's show Monday to announce imminent charges — then pleaded with the public to help him find the evidence to bring them.First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, the number-two federal prosecutor in the Central District of California, told Beck that election fraud charges are coming — "one to two months, I believe" — before pivoting to ask the conservative host's audience for help."What we need right now are witnesses," Essayli said in the interview. "If you've witnessed anything… we wanna know about that."The announcement fits a pattern. On June 5 — one day after President Donald Trump alleged without evidence that California's primary was being rigged — Essayli announced his office had "multiple" probes underway. He then accused California of blocking a federal audit of its voter rolls, part of an ongoing DOJ lawsuit against California Secretary of State Shirley Weber (D). On Monday, Essayli hedged his own timeline even as he announced it."I hate to put timelines on things," he told Beck, "but one to two months, I believe. We need some of these results to be certified so we can prove some of the allegations."Then came the ask."I know people have theories and they have ideas," Essayli added. "What we need right now are witnesses."It's a striking posture for a prosecutor promising imminent charges. Essayli's credibility carries its own baggage: a federal judge previously ruled that he had illegally served as acting U.S. Attorney, having remained in office beyond his interim appointment without congressional approval. He now holds the title of First Assistant U.S. Attorney.None of that dampened his confidence Monday. Charges are coming, he insisted — just as soon as someone tells him what happened.

California gubernatorial race: A Republican and a Democrat appear headed for runoff election

The race for the next California governor began with 61 official candidates looking to replace Democrat Gavin Newsom, with no clear early frontrunner. The top two candidates, regardless of party affiliation, proceed to the general election in November.Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra (D) and former Fox News host and small-business owner Steve Hilton (R) received the most votes in Tuesday’s primary election and will advance to the general election, according to Decision Desk HQ and RealClearPolitics. As of Tuesday morning, other election aggregators, including the Associated Press and NBC News, have confirmed Becerra’s spot in November’s runoff election, but not yet Hilton’s.'Enough with this disastrous system — universal mail-in chaos is killing election integrity and transparency.'With 83% of the votes counted, Becerra received 2,177,556, Hilton received 1,975,062, and Democratic candidate Tom Steyer received 1,759,328. Hilton held a 2.7-point lead over Steyer as of Tuesday morning.With many Democrats in the race and the party failing to coalesce behind one candidate, there was early speculation that two Republicans, Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, might be the two candidates to advance to the general election.However, in the final days leading up to the primary, Becerra began to pull ahead in the polls. An Emerson College poll, which surveyed registered voters from May 27 to 28, reported Becerra with a stronger lead, securing 28% of the vote, followed by Steyer with 22%, Hilton with 21%, and Bianco with 12%.RELATED: California Democrats’ search for a front-runner: Polls show 26% of voters undecided in fast-approaching gubernatorial race Xavier Becerra. ETIENNE LAURENT/AFPGetty Images.Steyer has criticized Becerra, labeling him a “corporate Democrat.”“For too long, we’ve had a system where corporations buy off politicians to protect their profits,” Steyer said during a campaign rally. “If that sounds familiar, it’s because that’s the story of Xavier Becerra’s campaign.”RELATED: Democrats narrow field in California’s crowded gubernatorial race to avoid primary disaster Steve Hilton. Mario Tama/Getty Images.Hilton’s campaign criticized California for its vote-counting delay, calling it an “ABSOLUTE DISGRACE.”“California’s election machine is a slow-motion disaster deliberately dragging out vote counts for 35 DAYS while the rest of the world tallies hundreds of millions in hours,” his campaign wrote. “Enough with this disastrous system — universal mail-in chaos is killing election integrity and transparency.”Hilton stated that he will wait for the AP to call the race before declaring a victory. “Thank you so much for all your congratulations! We always said we would wait for@AP_RaceCalls before declaring victory so we're not popping the champagne just yet ... but it's definitely time for a beer!” Hilton said.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Trump Attorney Begs for Evidence of Election Fraud in California

First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli—who oversees 500 attorneys—went on The Glenn Beck Program on Monday to beg listeners to help him find evidence of election fraud. “Tell me what credible allegations exist that warrant a formal federal investigation [in California]?” Beck asked Essayli. “Number one, election fraud is not a theory. It is a real thing. Election fraud happens every year,” Essayli replied. “California is a fraudster’s paradise.... Almost anybody can register to vote in the state of California. You don’t have to have a Social Security number, and you don’t need a driver’s license number.... Then California has done universal vote-by-mail, which means if you’re on the voter rolls, you’re gonna get one mailed to you whether you want it or not.” “They put millions of ballots out into the mail. into the ether. The voter rolls are dirty.... Dead people, people who’ve moved, convicted felons, are also receiving ballots,” he continued, before criticizing “ballot harvesting,” a basic ballot collection method practiced by both Democrats and Republicans in California. “I expect people will be charged.... We have set up a tipline. I’ve set up a dedicated email.... We are looking for any sort of widescale conspiracy if you will.” He then told Beck that election fraud charges would be coming in “one to two months.” “If anyone knows anything … if you’ve witnessed anything … if you saw someone collecting ballots in a suspicious way, or doing something odd with ballots, we wanna know about that.” Essayli railed against voter registration methods designed to increase access and participation, presented zero actual evidence of voter fraud, and then invited an infamously fanatical MAGA public to deputize themselves and go after the fraud that only exists because their guy lost in L.A.’s mayoral race. This election fraud script is the Trump administration’s favorite play. It’ll only come up more as midterms approach, as Trump and Vice President JD Vance have already spread baseless claims of election fraud in California.

Data Centers Will Turn Red States Blue

‘It’s pathetic, this is how they roll in California’: Guy Benson

Washington Examiner columnist Guy Benson blasted California’s election system following the state’s primary elections, saying, “It’s pathetic, this is how they roll in California.” Benson emphasized that, a week after California’s June 2 primary election, the state is still working through hundreds of thousands of unprocessed ballots.  “I was looking at the estimated number of […]

California’s Dysfunctional Elections

It does not have to be this way.

Trump DOJ intensifies scrutiny of California as ballot counting continues

The Justice Department under the Trump administration is ramping up scrutiny of California‘s election system amid dramatic shifts in the outcomes of several closely watched races, even as the state’s election officials were still counting ballots nearly a week after voters cast their primary votes. Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have now opened multiple election […]

Spencer Pratt loss latest sign big, blue cities won’t change left-wing course

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt missing out on the general election is the latest example of voters in a large, Democrat-run city flirting with change but then opting to maintain the status quo. This isn’t even the first time this has happened in Los Angeles. Mayor Karen Bass was elected four years ago over […]