{"id":1052,"date":"2026-06-09T23:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T23:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=1052"},"modified":"2026-06-09T23:30:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T23:30:10","slug":"becerra-and-hilton-spar-about-electoral-integrity-as-trump-claims-california-elections-are-rigged","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=1052","title":{"rendered":"Becerra and Hilton spar about electoral integrity as Trump claims California elections are rigged"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

As President Trump pushed unfounded allegations that California\u2019s elections are rigged, the security of the ballot box became a major flash point in the state\u2019s 2026 race for governor on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Read more Advocates urge support for measure that would allow noncitizens to vote in L.A. elections<\/a><\/p>\n

Republican Steve Hilton called for major reforms to how Californians cast ballots and how their votes are tallied, while sidestepping questions about the president\u2019s claims that the state\u2019s elections officials \u201cwere cheating.\u201d Democrat Xavier Becerra defended the integrity of the state\u2019s elections and argued that proposed restrictions would disenfranchise many voters.<\/p>\n

The men appeared less than 20 miles apart in Southern California one week after a contentious primary election that prompted Trump to repeatedly make unfounded claims about the integrity of California\u2019s slow vote-counting process, allegations triggered as Democrat Nithya Raman was about to overtake Republican Spencer Pratt for second place in the race for Los Angeles mayor.<\/p>\n

Hilton, whose endorsement from Trump pushed him to the front of the GOP gubernatorial field, said he has not seen any evidence of impropriety in this month\u2019s election results.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very, very focused on making sure that everything\u2019s OK,\u201d Hilton told reporters in Norwalk. \u201cWe\u2019ve got teams standing by, we\u2019ve got lawyers standing by, very focused on that. We don\u2019t want to let anyone down, we don\u2019t want to let anything slip away, and we\u2019ve seen nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two men emerged from a crowded field of candidates in the most unpredictable governor\u2019s race in more than a quarter of a century. While Becerra on Friday nabbed a spot in the June 2 primary and will advance to the November general election, Hilton has not officially been declared a victor by the Associated Press, as of Tuesday afternoon. <\/p>\n

Hilton, however, appears on the cusp of clinching the second spot on the ballot. Billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer is in third place in the current ballot tally, and the odds of him overtaking Hilton appear increasingly unlikely.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very pleased to say that we remain confident that I will make it into the top two and that California will have a real choice for change in November,\u201d Hilton said at a news conference outside the Los Angeles County elections headquarters. \u201cWe\u2019re not popping the champagne yet, but we\u2019re very confident.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hilton called for electoral reform, including supporting a voter identification requirement that will appear on the November ballot, ending mail ballots being sent to every registered voter, no longer counting ballots that are received after election day \u2014 all of which are being pushed by Trump \u2014 and increasing resources at county vote counting centers.<\/p>\n

\u201cVoter ID [is] not the only thing, but it\u2019s the biggest, quickest, simplest thing we can do to restore faith in the system and to have these elections completed quickly in a way that inspires confidence, and that\u2019s why I hope that Xavier Becerra will join me in campaigning for it, so we can have a united front,\u201d the former Fox News commentator and British political strategist told reporters.<\/p>\n

Hilton did not directly address Trump\u2019s unfounded claims of voter fraud in California. However, he noted that Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, has the full resources of the Department of Justice and has found no proof of wrongdoing. <\/p>\n

Essayli said Monday on NewsNation that his office is investigating voter fraud but doesn\u2019t have a case. However, the voter rolls need to be audited, Essayli told host Chris Cuomo.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat, to me, is the best way to alleviate most of people\u2019s suspicion. We have a system that breeds skepticism and distrust,\u201d Essayli said. \u201cWe should have a little transparency and confidence in our system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more California\u2019s slow vote count faces changes as Supreme Court decision on late ballots looms<\/a><\/p>\n

Becerra, a longtime elected official and a former Biden administration Cabinet secretary, questioned whether Hilton could be trusted to protect the state against Trump\u2019s fraud claims. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s who\u2019s endorsing Steve Hilton,\u201d Becerra told reporters at a South Los Angeles food hall, referring to Trump. \u201cThat\u2019s who Steve Hilton is aligning himself with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Becerra, who was met with cheers of \u201cSi se puede!\u201d<\/i> from diners, criticized the proposed voter ID ballot measure, arguing that it would create hurdles for many Californians to participate in the democratic electoral process. Led by Republican Assemblymember Carl DeMaio from San Diego and others, the measure would require elections officials to verify that voters are U.S. citizens to be eligible to cast ballots.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m against voter suppression. I\u2019m against anything that would try to limit a Californian\u2019s right to vote,\u201d said Becerra, who formerly served as California\u2019s attorney general. <\/p>\n

Told by reporters that Hilton wanted Becerra to campaign for the ballot initiative, Becerra responded, \u201cCome join me here, where the real people are,\u201d gesturing toward the packed food hall.<\/p>\n

Becerra acknowledged his concern over the lengthy time that it takes to count votes in California. He suggested one issue is a lack of workers and equipment at county vote-counting centers.<\/p>\n

Another problem is that the \u201cvotes get backlogged\u201d because so many people wait until the end of the election to cast ballots, he said, likening last-minute voters to shoppers who go to Costco at the end of the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you wait till 7:00 p.m. when they\u2019re getting ready to close, you\u2019re probably gonna find more people there,\u201d Becerra said.<\/p>\n

The attacks on the elections process by Trump and his supporters appear to have a major effect on people\u2019s confidence in the system. For years, Trump has made baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, which led his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers were scheduled to certify the election results. Additionally, Trump\u2019s allegations about California\u2019s elections, as well as an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court ruling about ballot tallying, could have a significant effect on the midterm elections that will decide which party controls Congress for the final two years of Trump\u2019s presidency.<\/p>\n

A poll released Friday by the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley found that 41% of California voters were \u201cnot confident\u201d that this year\u2019s elections would be free of federal interference. Although 48% had confidence that there would be no meddling, the concerns expressed were still significant, said political scientist Eric Schickler, co-director of the institute.<\/p>\n

Among Democratic registered voters, 79% said they trusted elections officials to provide an accurate vote count. Among Republicans, 55% said they were not confident that would occur, the survey found.<\/p>\n

Read more This race shows L.A. is changing forever. And it\u2019s not the mayoral contest<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Trump pushed unfounded claims that California\u2019s elections are rigged, the security of the ballot box became a flash point in the governor’s race.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nBecerra and Hilton spar about electoral integrity as Trump claims California elections are rigged - California Relocation Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=1052\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Becerra and Hilton spar about electoral integrity as Trump claims California elections are rigged - California Relocation Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As Trump pushed unfounded claims that California\u2019s elections are rigged, the security of the ballot box became a flash point in the governor's race.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=1052\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"California Relocation Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-09T23:30:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=1052#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=1052\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b85b48ca4c2015dd056e0e9c18912121\"},\"headline\":\"Becerra and Hilton spar about electoral integrity as Trump claims California elections are rigged\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-09T23:30:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=1052\"},\"wordCount\":1147,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=1052#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/cfa05027e39f6551a2b19fcf389daa09-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=1052#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=1052\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=1052\",\"name\":\"Becerra and Hilton spar about electoral integrity as Trump claims California elections are rigged - California Relocation Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=1052#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=1052#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/cfa05027e39f6551a2b19fcf389daa09-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-09T23:30:10+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=1052#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=1052\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=1052#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/cfa05027e39f6551a2b19fcf389daa09-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/cfa05027e39f6551a2b19fcf389daa09-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=1052#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Becerra and Hilton spar about electoral integrity as Trump claims California elections are rigged\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"California Relocation Journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"California Relocation Journal\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/cj.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/cj.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"California Relocation Journal\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b85b48ca4c2015dd056e0e9c18912121\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Becerra and Hilton spar about electoral integrity as Trump claims California elections are rigged - California Relocation Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=1052","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Becerra and Hilton spar about electoral integrity as Trump claims California elections are rigged - California Relocation Journal","og_description":"As Trump pushed unfounded claims that California\u2019s elections are rigged, the security of the ballot box became a flash point in the governor's race.","og_url":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=1052","og_site_name":"California Relocation Journal","article_published_time":"2026-06-09T23:30:10+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=1052#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=1052"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85b48ca4c2015dd056e0e9c18912121"},"headline":"Becerra and Hilton spar about electoral integrity as Trump claims California elections are rigged","datePublished":"2026-06-09T23:30:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=1052"},"wordCount":1147,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=1052#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cfa05027e39f6551a2b19fcf389daa09-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=1052#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=1052","url":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=1052","name":"Becerra and Hilton spar about electoral integrity as Trump claims California elections are rigged - California Relocation Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=1052#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=1052#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cfa05027e39f6551a2b19fcf389daa09-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-09T23:30:10+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=1052#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=1052"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=1052#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cfa05027e39f6551a2b19fcf389daa09-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cfa05027e39f6551a2b19fcf389daa09-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=1052#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Becerra and Hilton spar about electoral integrity as Trump claims California elections are rigged"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/","name":"California Relocation Journal","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/#organization","name":"California Relocation Journal","url":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/cj.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/cj.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"California Relocation Journal"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85b48ca4c2015dd056e0e9c18912121","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com"],"url":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}