play Live Sign upShow navigation menuplay Live Click here to searchsearchSign upHow California is preparing for Trump's midterm election scrutinyTrump has accused the left-leaning state of 'cheating'. But election officials say they are using public outreach to combat such misinformation.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoSan Francisco, California – In May, as the midterm election season began to heat up, United States President Donald Trump turned his eye to a frequent target: California.
Speaking to Fox News, the Republican leader painted a picture of the left-leaning state as a chaotic free-for-all with no safeguards for voting integrity.
"California is very fraud [sic]. The whole thing is a fraud. The whole deal: Their elections are a fraud. Their mail-in votes are a fraud," Trump told Fox News host Lara Trump, his daughter-in-law.
"You know, they don't have voting booths. Everything's by mail," he added.
None of those assertions are true. But as November's general election approaches, Trump has continued to raise unfounded concerns about election integrity, particularly in states like California, where Democrats are expected to notch wins.
Voting officials in the state, however, say they are prepared to confront the scrutiny.
“At the end of the day, part of our job is to be transparent and instil confidence within the public about our processes," said Matt Moreles, the registrar of voters in Santa Clara County, which encompasses the city of San Jose.
While contingency plans are in place if Trump seeks to change the state's elections, Moreles explained that his office is investing primarily in voter education.
“That’s really where we’re focusing our efforts: making sure we're providing clear and consistent messaging that cuts through all of the misinformation or disinformation that’s floating out there," he said.
President Donald Trump talks to reporters at Los Angeles international airport in California on August 4 [Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo]President Donald Trump talks to reporters at Los Angeles international airport in California on August 4 [Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo]A focus on CaliforniaThe scrutiny on California stems, in part, from its reputation as a Democratic stronghold. Some 45 percent of the state's registered voters are Democrats, compared with about 25 percent who are Republicans.
But an equally important factor this election season might be the state's size.
As the most populous state in the country, California boasts 52 members of the US House of Representatives, more than any other state.
Several of its races are also expected to be close. In California's 6th congressional district, for instance, a Republican-turned-independent is seeking to break a decades-long winning streak for Democrats.
Further south in the Central Valley, a progressive newcomer is also attempting to unseat a moderate Republican in the nailbiter race for the 22nd district.
With Republicans holding a slim majority in both the House and Senate, the battle for control of Congress is likely to come down to a handful of elections this November.
Whichever party wins will play a critical role in shaping the final two years of Trump's presidency. And as election day nears, Trump has intensified his criticism of states like California.
During the June primary, for instance, Trump falsely insinuated that Republican candidates were falling behind in the vote count due to election interference.
“You look at what’s happening — it’s getting tighter and tighter and tighter,” Trump said as the tallies fluctuated. “And the people who were supposed to win, bad things are happening. It’s a crooked state.”
But Trump's scrutiny of California is not new. Last year, ahead of the 2025 election, the Trump administration sent extra poll watchers to the state as voters weighed a controversial ballot initiative.
Voters ultimately approved the measure, which allowed Democrats to redraw the state's congressional map in their party's favour.
Trump responded to the results by calling the vote a "GIANT SCAM" and pledging a "very serious legal and criminal review".
Voter Carmen Sandoval clutches her dog Peluche as she votes at San Francisco's City Hall on June 2 [Jeff Chiu/AP Photo]Voter Carmen Sandoval clutches her dog Peluche as she votes at San Francisco's City Hall on June 2 [Jeff Chiu/AP Photo]Eroding public trustSurging federal officials to the polls can be a way of influencing the election results, according to Catherine Lhamon, the director of the Edley Center on Law and Democracy at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.
"There are a lot of people who have a lot of fear of federal officials," Lhamon explained. “The mere fact of having poll monitors present can discourage voters from standing in the line, showing up to vote, and exercising that precious right.”
She added that it can also create a false impression about the accuracy of the election proceedings.
"It's a significant thumb on the scale to indicate to the community you might be doing something wrong," Lhamon said.
Trump's efforts may be having an effect, though. Ahead of the midterm elections, polls have found a nationwide loss of trust in US elections.
A survey this year from the University of California, San Diego, found that only 60 percent of US adults had confidence that the country's elections would be counted accurately. That marked a 17 percentage-point drop, compared with two years ago.
Critics have accused Trump of trying to erode public faith in voting by spreading unsubstantiated claims of election fraud.
Trump has maintained, for instance, that his defeat in the 2020 presidential election was the result of "rigged" voting. He raised similar claims after California's primary in June, when he accused the state of "cheating".
Those allegations have resonated strongly with Republicans in the state. An August poll from the University of California, Berkeley, found that 84 percent of Republicans ranked voter fraud as a "major concern", as opposed to just 21 percent of Democrats.
Despite accusations to the contrary, election fraud is “incredibly rare", according to James Kus, the county clerk and registrar of voters in California's Fresno County.
“They know — after years of making those claims, of doing those investigations — there’s nothing there,” Kus said.
Lhamon echoed that assessment. “It's not that we don't investigate" voter fraud, she said. “We investigate it a lot, and we don't find it.”
Still, in the aftermath of Trump's election fraud claims, the US Attorney's Office in Los Angeles opened an investigation into California's primary. No charges, however, have been announced.
Workers for California's Department of Elections sort mail-in ballots in San Francisco's City Hall on June 2 [Jeff Chiu/AP Photo]Workers for California's Department of Elections sort mail-in ballots in San Francisco's City Hall on June 2 [Jeff Chiu/AP Photo]Interference from the top?In California, the greater concern might be federal interference. The August poll from Berkeley found that 61 percent of California voters feared the federal government might meddle in the state's elections.
That number was even higher among the state's Democrats, at 80 percent.
Experts say Trump has sought to exert more federal power over the election process, a responsibility that falls to the states under US law.
“Article 1 of the United States Constitution says that voting is quintessentially a state matter,” Lhamon said. “That there is any discussion ever of federalising it is offensive to our Constitution.”
Trump has nevertheless moved to transform the way elections are administered.
Through a flurry of executive actions and legislative proposals in his second term, he has sought to increase voter registration requirements, curtail voting by mail and wrestle sensitive voter data from states.
Key facets of Trump’s election agenda have stalled in Congress or been blocked in court.
But Lhamon argues that the president's actions still succeed in sowing unease among voters and election officials alike.
The Trump administration, for instance, recently sent letters to election officials, warning they could face criminal prosecution if voters fail to adhere to eligibility laws.
“It's a type of intimidation that is demonstrably meritless and also works to discourage people from participating in the government, which is to discourage effective democracy,” Lhamon said.
A police dog sniffs ballots for dangerous substances at the Los Angeles County Ballot Processing Center on June 2 [Daniel Cole/Reuters]A police dog sniffs ballots for dangerous substances at the Los Angeles County Ballot Processing Center on June 2 [Daniel Cole/Reuters]Voting from homeCalifornia's mail-in voting system has also become a particular target for Trump.
Voting by mail surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, California passed a law to automatically mail a ballot to every registered voter.
More than 80 percent of the state's voters cast a mail-in ballot in 2024 alone.
Moreles, the Santa Clara registrar, said his county has an even higher rate. More than 90 percent of voters in his jurisdiction use mail-in ballots to vote.
His county processed more mail-in ballots in the last general election than the entire state of Texas did. While Texas accepted roughly 342,000 mail-in votes, Santa Clara County sent out more than a million.
That widespread use suggests that voters do not share Trump's scepticism of the mail-in system, according to Moreles. "They like the accessibility of it. They must believe it’s secure as well," he said.
But mail-in ballots can continue to trickle in after the election ends, causing vote tallies to fluctuate in the days and weeks after polling stations close. In California, all mailed ballots are valid so long as they are postmarked by election day, and must also be received no later than seven days after.
Trump has pointed to those long vote counts and shifting tallies as evidence of fraud.
Even some Democrats have pushed for the process to be faster. By law, elections must be certified within 30 days of the election. But Moreles argued that not rushing can have its virtues, too.
“For the folks who are living here and are used to it, it makes sense and, to a lot of people, is reassuring,” Moreles said. “Taking the time to get it right is something that intuitively makes sense to people.”
Still, on August 24, the Supreme Court opened the door to additional uncertainty surrounding mail-in ballots.
In a six-to-three ruling, the court’s conservative majority allowed the Trump administration to begin implementing a March executive order that would impose new restrictions on mail-in voting.
The order could impact both the design of mail-in ballots and who is eligible to receive one.
But state officials have questioned the feasibility of redesigning and reprinting ballots with so little time before the midterm elections. Early voting in some states starts as early as September.
Others have speculated about whether the legal wrangling with cause confusion or discourage voters who rely on mail-in ballots.
On Wednesday, California announced it was co-leading a group of 24 state attorneys general in filing a new lawsuit to see the executive order blocked.
"Donald Trump does not run elections. States do. And his latest attack on democracy is proof of how weak he has become,” the state's Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement accompanying the suit.
“California will continue to lead the way in defending democracy — using every tool at our disposal and every minute in our day. This perilous moment in history demands no less from us.”
A second court order pausing part of Trump’s plan for mail-in ballots remains in effect.
Attendees at a primary watch party for Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass watch results roll in for California's gubernatorial race on June 2 [Daniel Cole/Reuters]Attendees at a primary watch party for Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass watch results roll in for California's gubernatorial race on June 2 [Daniel Cole/Reuters]Keeping it localWith the midterm elections less than three months away, election officials like Moreles and Kus say their best defence against misinformation this year will be voter outreach.
Moreles emphasised that his colleagues at the county elections office are deeply rooted in the Santa Clara community.
“All of these are public servants who live in our county who are a part of our community. It’s not the federal government, not even the state government. It's not some private vendor,” Moreles said. “It’s people within our community, and I think that does give a lot of confidence.”
In Fresno County, Kus likewise said local residents tend to trust their community's voting system.
What gives Kus the most pause ahead of November's midterms is the wall of text for the state ballot measures, not Trump's actions. His biggest fear is that the volume of measures may overwhelm some voters.
Still, Kus explained he is prepared for any sceptics who may take Trump's allegations of widespread voter fraud seriously.
In such a case, Kus said his strategy is simple: "Open the books." Transparency, he underscored, is key.
