President Donald Trump, who abruptly ended an interview with NBC News Sunday over his claims of a “rigged” election in Los Angeles, isn’t the only one raising suspicion over the recent primary that will help determine who will lead the city and also the state of California.
In California, the mayoral and gubernatorial races have not yet been called nearly a week after Election Day.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Monday California’s primary election “stinks to high heaven.”
“They are counting votes weeks after the election,” Johnson told reporters. “I’m not saying it’s rigged. I’m saying it stinks to high heaven, and everybody knows that.”
State law allows the counting of ballots for 30 days after an election, and “ballot harvesting” is legal in California.
What is the state of the Los Angeles race?
Spencer Pratt, a former reality TV star who is running for Los Angeles mayor, was in second place behind incumbent Mayor Karen Bass for several days after the primary election on June 2. But he lost his lead in the past few days over Nithya Raman, who is now in second place. Pratt or Raman will advance to the general election in November to face Bass.
“‘A net swing of more than 43,000 votes since Tuesday.’ 43,000, huh? Where have I seen that number before …? Probably nothing,” Pratt wrote on Sunday evening.
Pratt, in a post on X, shared a screenshot of an article that states L.A.’s homeless population is 43,000.
With about 83% of the expected vote in, Bass has secured 34.7%, followed by Raman with 27.1%, and Pratt with 26.7%, according to The Associated Press.
As of late Monday, Pratt was trailing Raman by about 3,000 votes.
In a separate post on Sunday, Pratt shared a photo of Raman, who appeared shocked, and wrote, “Remember everyone … we are still in the lead, and we’ve got allllllll the way till July 6 to keep counting. They’re not the only ones who know where to find votes.”
Glenn Greenwald, a columnist, wrote on X that given L.A.’s “extremely blue” leanings, “Spencer Pratt has no chance of beating Karen Bass.”
“The entire Dem establishment is behind Bass and she has a far greater chance to lose to Raman than Pratt,” he said.
Trump calls California primary election ‘rigged’
Trump raised concerns about the integrity of the primary election in the Golden State on Monday, alleging the race was “rigged.”
“No way this could have happened. Rigged Election!” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social.
His remarks came hours after he abruptly ended an interview with NBC News when challenged over his claims about California’s primary and the 2020 election.
“Do you think it’s appropriate that they have an election and five days later, they’re nowhere close to picking a winner?” the president said to “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker. “Do you know why they’re doing that? Because they’re cheating on the election … We’re … like a third-world country.”
When pressed for evidence of widespread fraud, Trump said, “All I have to do is look, and I listen,” he said. She responded, “That’s not evidence,” prompting Trump to end the interview.
Federal officials are actively investigating California’s primary elections for fraud.
“Yes. There is evidence of election fraud in California,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli wrote on X on Friday.
He pointed to a case his office found last month, where a California woman allegedly paid homeless people living on the skid row to register to vote. “More investigations are underway,” he added.
In another post, Essayli said, “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 public confidence.”
A federal prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Renner, was present at the Los Angeles County ballot processing center Friday “to observe the vote counting process,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
What is ballot harvesting?
In California, a third party can collect ballots from voters and turn the ballots in to officials, referred to as “ballot harvesting.”
In 2016, the state legalized unlimited ballot harvesting, meaning groups can turn in as many ballots as they can collect from voters, regardless of whether a voter needs help turning in their ballots or not. It is also legal for a person to be paid to collect ballots from voters, although they cannot be paid per ballot turned in.