The $30 million vote in the balance

The Los Angeles mayoral race has become a focal point for claims of election irregularities following the June 2026 primary, with reality TV star and Republican candidate Spencer Pratt and his supporters alleging vote rigging after being overtaken by Democratic Councilwoman Nithya Raman in the count of mail-in ballots.

These assertions, amplified by former President Donald Trump on social media, point to a large batch of votes that appeared to increase the totals for incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and Raman while Pratt's numbers rmeained static for a brief moment on an election tracker.

According to the report, Los Angeles County officials clarified that no ballot batch excluded any major candidate; the temporary discrepancy was due to the mechanics of a rapidly updating data feed, and a subsequent update corrected it by showing a concurrent increase in Pratt's votes .

California's slow and steady vote counting

Experts note that such fluctuations are a feature of California's system designed for inclusivity, where mail ballots are processed for weeks after election morning, often causing shifts in early leads.

While the top-two primary system means the two highest vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to a November runoff, the narrative of a 'stolen' election persists despite the ordinary explanation of California's vote tabulation timeline and the absence of any evidence of systemic fraud.

Who is behind the claims of election irregularities?

The claims of election irregularities have been amplified by former President Donald Trump on social media, but experts say there is no evidence to support these claims.

According to the report,the temporary discrepancy in the vote count was due to the mechanics of a rapidly updating data feed, and a subsequent update corrected it by showing a concurrent increase in Pratt's votes.

What's still unknown?

While the report explains that California's sluggish counting and temporary tracker glitches are routine, it does not provide information on who is behind the claims of election irregularities or what motivated them to make these claims .

It is also unclear whether the claims of election irregularities will have any impact on the outcome of the election or the November runoff.