Bill Essayli, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, said on Sunday that state officials are still blocking a federal audit of the state’s voter rolls.
This is because the office has found several policies that make people worried about how California runs its elections.
Advertisement
People who want to vote for the first time but don’t have a Social Security number or driver’s license can still register by using other forms of ID, such as gym membership cards, employer ID cards, credit or debit cards, and prescription drug labels.
The state also lets people use insurance cards, which has gotten more attention because California gives illegal immigrants free health insurance.
Other policies that were brought up included failing to promptly remove deceased voters from the voter rolls and insufficiently limiting third-party ballot harvesting.
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli wrote on X:
Advertisement
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?”
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… pic.twitter.com/kOEOzpctmb— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) June 7, 2026
This comes after last week’s announcement that the Central District of California would be opening a broad federal investigation into the state’s election process.
Videos on social media showed lawyers from the office touring a Los Angeles ballot processing center.
President Donald Trump and other people have said that California Democrats are cheating in the election.
They point to several races where Republican candidates looked like they would make it to the general election, but as mail-in ballots were counted, they fell behind and went overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates.
Steve Hilton is still ahead in the primary for governor.
Spencer Pratt is now behind Nithya Raman, a progressive city councilwoman, in the race for mayor of Los Angeles.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
