The U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, revealed Sunday that state officials are continuing to block a federal audit of the state's voter rolls, as the office has uncovered multiple policies that have raised concerns about how California administers its elections.
Those policies include allowing first-time voters who are unable to provide a Social Security number or driver's license to register using alternative forms of identification, including gym membership cards, employer ID cards, credit or debit cards, and prescription drug labels. The state also permits the use of insurance cards, which has drawn additional scrutiny because California provides free health coverage to illegal aliens.
Other policies cited include a failure to promptly remove deceased voters from the voter rolls and lax restrictions on third-party ballot harvesting.
California Is Blocking a Federal Audit of Its Voter Rolls
— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) June 7, 2026
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
"For over a year, the Department of Justice has been trying to audit California’s 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," U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli wrote on X.
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"AAGDhillon sent California a letter explaining our legal authority. 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," he added. "What are they afraid of?"
This comes after the Central District of California announced a sweeping federal probe into the state's election process just last week, as videos circulated on social media showing attorneys from the office touring a ballot processing center in Los Angeles.
🚨 NOW: An Assistant US Attorney is now INSIDE the Los Angeles ballot processing center, as @USAttyEssayli announces MULTIPLE federal investigations into voter fraud in California
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) June 5, 2026
Expose it ALL and prosecute! pic.twitter.com/iilpn9AkeJ
Protecting the integrity of California’s elections is a top priority for my office.
— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) June 5, 2026
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…
President Trump, among others, has accused California Democrats of election fraud, pointing to several races in which Republican candidates appeared positioned to advance to the general election before falling behind as mail-in ballots were counted, with those ballots breaking overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates.
Steve Hilton remains ahead in the gubernatorial primary, but Spencer Pratt has fallen behind progressive city-councilwoman Nithya Raman in the Los Angeles mayoral race.
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