Overview
- The June 2 primary produced early returns that favored Republican Steve Hilton but batches of mail ballots counted over the following days pushed Democrat Xavier Becerra into a projected top-two spot for November.
- The second slot in the top-two jungle primary remains unresolved with Hilton narrowly trailing and Democrat Tom Steyer gaining in late counts as counties continue to process millions of outstanding ballots.
- First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced multiple election-fraud investigations, said his office will work with the FBI to audit voter rolls, and sent a prosecutor to view Los Angeles County’s ballot operations.
- President Donald Trump and some allies publicly accused Democrats of stealing the vote without presenting evidence while state and election experts explained that California’s vote-by-mail rules routinely produce late shifts in totals.
- California mails ballots to all registered voters, accepts ballots postmarked by Election Day that arrive up to seven days later, and gives counties weeks to verify signatures and certify results, a pace that can change outcomes and draw national scrutiny.