Former President Donald Trump has accused the Democratic Party of attempting to “steal” the primary elections for California’s governorship and the mayoral race in Los Angeles. Amidst these allegations, he has initiated an investigation into the state’s slow vote counting process.
On Thursday, Trump expressed frustration over the prolonged vote tallying in California, which continues two days after the polls officially closed. The final results could be delayed for several weeks due to the extensive number of mail-in ballots that require counting.
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump criticized the Democrats, saying, “The Dumocrats are at it again,” and accused them of trying to manipulate the primaries for the governor of California and the mayor of Los Angeles, to the detriment of Republican candidates.
Trump announced that an investigation into the delayed vote count is underway, although details about who is conducting this probe remain unspecified.
In another post, Trump accused the Democrats of “big cheating” in California, claiming that the votes are “all tied up” and may not be fully counted for weeks. He mentioned that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles is involved, questioning the reasons behind the voting delays.
“There’s big cheating by the Dumocrats in California. Votes are all tied up. May not be in for weeks” Trump blasted in another post. “Under investigation by the US Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Why [is] the vote counting delay???”
California’s vote count often stretches beyond Election Day because officials must verify signatures, process millions of vote-by-mail ballots, and conduct required audits before certifying results.
State law gives county election officials up to 30 days after an election to complete the official canvass, count every valid ballot, and perform post-election checks to ensure accuracy.
Results started trickling in shortly after polls closed Tuesday, but those numbers can change as additional ballots are processed.
Early in-person votes and mail-in ballots that came in during the first weeks of voting will be released as the state’s initial results.
Because California accepts vote-by-mail ballots that can be postmarked by Election Day and received later, final results in close races may not be known for days or even weeks.
Only 56% of the vote has been counted statewide in California — and Steve Hilton, a former aide to ex-British Prime Minister David Cameron, leads the way.
The top two candidates, irrespective of party, will progress and face off against each other in November’s general election.
Hilton has received 27.6% of the vote and has a two percentage point lead over Democrat Xavier Becerra.
Billionaire Tom Steyer, founder of the San Francisco hedge fund Farallon Capital, is trailing in third place — despite pumping in $215 million of his own cash into the race.
Hilton, who has been endorsed by Trump, has said California has lost its way under Democratic leadership as he bids to become the state’s first Republican governor in 15 years.
But he faces an uphill task if he makes it to the general election as Democrats make up 45% of registered voters compared to Republicans’ 25%.
He is pledging to lower prices on everything from gas to housing, reduce income taxes, create a loan program for first-time homebuyers, and freeze in-state tuition at public colleges.
Meanwhile, ex-reality TV star Spencer Pratt is still waiting to find out if he will progress to November’s mayoral election in Los Angeles.
Incumbent Karen Bass will be on the ballot, having qualified for the run-off, but Pratt is currently in second place on 29.9% of the vote.
He is ahead of progressive Democrat Nithya Raman — who is currently on 22.8%.
Far-left candidate Raman sobbed during an impassioned speech Tuesday but she could end up in the run-off if a large trove of progressive mail-in ballots swing towards her.
“Don’t count Nithya Raman out yet,” Zev Yaroslavsky, the director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin, told the Los Angeles Times.
“Pratt has an edge … but it’s not free from doubt at this point.”
Trump’s opposition to mail-in voting is well-documented. Last August, he wrote, “ELECTIONS CAN NEVER BE HONEST WITH MAIL IN BALLOTS/VOTING.”
“I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS,” he said.
Ahead of the 2020 election, Trump claimed “universal mail-in voting” would lead to the most “INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history.”
With Post wires
