The Justice Department sent one of its attorneys to observe ballot processing in Los Angeles Friday morning, the county’s elections office told CNN, after President Donald Trump claimed earlier this week the US Attorney’s office there was investigating the vote counting.
A spokesperson for the county registrar-recorder said “our office was notified late yesterday that the U.S. Attorney’s Office would send an Assistant U.S. Attorney to the Ballot Processing Center to observe ballot processing activities.”
“The individual arrived this morning, was provided an overview of the public observation program, and participated in a walkthrough of the ballot processing operations,” the spokesperson, Mike Sanchez said in an email, noting that ballot processing in the county is open to public observation.
Trump has claimed repeatedly, without evidence, that the slow pace of the count from Tuesday’s primary was a sign of Democratic “cheating.” Several key races in the state have not been called, and California has long had a reputation for being slow to report the results. This is, in part, because a significant number of the total votes come in as mail ballots that are dropped off Election Day, according to the California Voter Foundation, a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve the election process.
