LOS ANGELES — An official with the Los Angeles office of the Department of Justice denied a claim on Friday regarding a vote count discrepancy in the Los Angeles mayoral election. The claim, circulated on platform X and promoted by figures including Elon Musk, asserted that an election night vote update showed Republican mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt received zero new votes.
Bill Essayli, the First Assistant United States Attorney for the Los Angeles office, reviewed official county records. Essayli said, "A claim circulated on social media about an election night ballot update at the Los Angeles Voter Registrar where one candidate received zero votes. We reviewed official county records. The claim is false. Each candidate received votes in every update." President Donald Trump appointed Essayli to his position. A nonpartisan primary election for mayor of Los Angeles occurred on Tuesday, and vote counting is ongoing to determine which candidate will advance to the November general election alongside Karen Bass, who is the acting mayor of Los Angeles.
A spokesperson for the news wire service provided additional details about the update process. The spokesperson said, "There was a delay in an automated update so that votes for some candidates were added in one batch and others followed approximately one minute later." The spokesperson further explained the breakdown of votes, stating, "Exactly one minute later, the electronic update included votes for another group of candidates, including Spencer Pratt. In total, the updates recorded 21,870 votes for Pratt, 12,850 for Bass and 9,521 for Raman, plus votes for other candidates." Nithya Raman is a Los Angeles city council member.
The department dispatched an attorney to observe ballot processing in Los Angeles. California election results are typically finalized over multiple days. Many California ballots arrive by mail on Election Day. California state law permits mail ballots to be received at local election offices up to seven days after an election if postmarked on or before Election Day. California election personnel must verify ballots before counting them.