US Attorney Torches CA Officials As They Block Federal Audit of State Voter Rolls

Bill Essayli, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, said Sunday that California officials are continuing to block a federal audit of the state’s voter rolls, even as concerns mount over election policies that critics say weaken public confidence in the system.

Essayli said his office has identified multiple issues that deserve closer scrutiny, including California’s standards for first-time voter registration, voter roll maintenance, and third-party ballot collection.

One of the central concerns involves the forms of identification accepted from first-time voters who do not provide a Social Security number or driver’s license.

Under California policy, those voters may still register using alternative forms of identification, including gym membership cards, employer ID cards, credit or debit cards, prescription drug labels, and insurance cards.

The use of insurance cards has drawn additional attention because California provides free health coverage to illegal immigrants, raising questions among election integrity advocates about how the state verifies voter eligibility.

Other concerns cited by Essayli include whether California is promptly removing deceased voters from its rolls, whether individuals who have moved are being properly removed, and whether people convicted of disqualifying felonies remain on voter lists.

Essayli laid out the concerns in a post on X.

“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 card (California provides free health coverage to undocumented immigrants)”

“This is permitted when a voter fails to provide a Social Security number or driver’s license at registration. Our office believes this policy deserves a closer look,” Essayli wrote.

“We also have serious concerns about how California maintains its voter rolls. There are open questions about whether the state is promptly removing deceased voters, people who have moved, and individuals convicted of disqualifying felonies,” Essayli added.

“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,” Essayli continued.

“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,” he said.

“[Assistant Attorney General Harmet Dhillon] 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,” Essayli added.

“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 said.

He concluded, “What are they afraid of?”

The dispute follows last week’s announcement that the Central District of California would launch a broad federal investigation into the state’s election process.

Videos circulated on social media showed attorneys from Essayli’s office touring a Los Angeles ballot processing center, a move that immediately drew attention from voters already concerned about transparency in one of the nation’s largest and most heavily Democratic states.

President Donald Trump and other critics have repeatedly argued that California Democrats benefit from an election system that lacks sufficient safeguards.

Those concerns have intensified in several races where Republican candidates initially appeared well-positioned to advance, only to fall behind as mail-in ballots were later counted and heavily favored Democratic candidates.

Supporters of stronger election oversight argue that the issue is not partisan convenience but basic public trust. In a constitutional republic, voters must have confidence that only eligible citizens are voting, that voter rolls are accurate, and that ballots are handled with transparency from the moment they are issued to the moment they are counted.

Steve Hilton remains ahead in the primary for governor.

Meanwhile, Spencer Pratt is now trailing Nithya Raman, a progressive city councilwoman, in the race for mayor of Los Angeles.

For conservatives, California’s refusal to cooperate with a federal audit only raises more questions. If the state’s election system is as secure as officials claim, critics argue, then opening the records should strengthen confidence rather than weaken it.

Instead, the state is fighting in court to keep federal auditors away from the voter rolls.