By admin 
Democratic legislators attempted to downplay the announcement Monday that federal authorities had accused 28 people of fraudulently registering to vote or voting in California. They suggested it was an effort by the Trump administration to distract and sow doubt in the state’s elections.
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Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, D-Santa Cruz, who chairs the chamber’s elections committee, said in a statement the people charged represented a tiny number compared to the 23 million Californians who are registered to vote. Pellerin called it a “bad-faith attempt to fuel” President Donald Trump’s “baseless voter-fraud narrative and cast suspicion on millions of lawful voters.”
Yet the issue is not likely to blow over. The announcement follows allegations from the Trump administration that more than 20,000 noncitizens are registered to vote in the state. That followed repeated accusations by Trump that California Democrats are attempting to steal elections.
Assemblymember Natasha Johnson, R-Lake Elsinore, who is the vice chair of the chamber’s elections committee, said in a statement that Democratic colleagues had called voter fraud a myth.
“Now, this latest federal action proved them wrong,” she said. “This is NOT an isolated incident —every illegal vote cancels out the vote of an American citizen.”
Election experts disagreed that Monday’s announcement was confirmation of widespread voter fraud in the state, but it is unlikely to quiet critics of California’s system.
California officials have sought to make it easier for people to vote by sending a mail-in ballot to everyone who is registered in the state. Yet that has invited allegations that they are also making it easier for people to cheat the system.
The Sacramento Bee contacted all members of the Assembly and Senate elections committees. Most did not respond to the news about the charges that came out of an effort by the four California United States Attorney’s Offices called “Operation Protect the Vote.” Federal authorities said all 28 people accused were immigrants who were lawful permanent residents.
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Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, in a statement, said it was “inappropriate to comment” without “knowing any of the facts.” But he called voter fraud “practically nonexistent” in California and said Trump was “desperate to distract us” ahead of the November election, where Republicans nationally are expected to face an uphill battle in keeping the majority in both chambers of Congress.
The news also comes as Californians are considering Proposition 39 in the November election, which would require voters to provide additional identifying information every time they cast a ballot.
Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, R-Valley Center, who was instrumental in getting the measure in front of voters, said the announcement Monday was “yet another blow to our trust and confidence in elections.” He pitched Prop. 39 as “the only way to fix this problem.”
That measure faces a tough fight in a state where there are almost double the number of registered Democrats as Republicans.
In the meantime, state Sen. Steve Choi, R-Irvine, a naturalized citizen, said in a statement that the allegations need to be thoroughly investigated.
“Those charged deserve due process and anyone proven to have knowingly violated the law must be held accountable,” he said. “Verification of citizenship is not a voter suppression. It is a matter of election integrity.”
Read more Democratic legislators push back on California voter fraud claims after charges