California Election Officials Defend Security Amid DOJ Fraud Lawsuit

Election officials in Orange and Los Angeles counties reassured voters on Wednesday that security measures are in place to protect the upcoming mid-term election. Bob Page, the Orange County Registrar of Voters, detailed the use of air-gapped counting computers, GPS-tracked ballot collection teams, and automated signature verification software to prevent hacking and fraud.

These assurances follow a federal lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice alleging that approximately 20,000 non-citizens cast mail-in ballots across California. The Justice Department specifically requested that Orange County review the citizenship status of 1,754 individuals. Local officials responded that they will not release ballots to the federal government without a judge-signed warrant. U.S. District Judge David Carter was expected to rule on the matter Wednesday.

In Los Angeles, Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda Solis and Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan emphasized that eligible voters should not be intimidated by immigration enforcement or fraud claims. Caroline Thomas Jacobs, Director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, warned that misinformation regarding the process could undermine public confidence in the final election results.