The registrar fights back

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, June 9, and the skies will be sunny with a high of about 80. 

Baseless accusations of election fraud have reached a fever pitch in recent days, as Councilmember Nithya Raman cut into reality star Spencer Pratt’s second-place lead in the L.A. mayor’s race — surpassing him Sunday and then, on Monday, securing a spot on the November ballot. (The Associated Press called the race after Monday’s results showed Raman with a nearly 3-point lead.)  

Meanwhile, the county office responsible for counting votes has taken an unlikely tack on social media: They’re attacking the claims of fraud head-on. 

The L.A. County Registrar-Recorder’s office has been playing whack-a-mole with the relentless stream of fraud allegations on X, finding and countering posts with a similarly ceaseless stream of fact checks. Some of the replies are explanatory. Others are pointed — or even funny. 

“Let me guess. You miraculously found thousands of votes for communist @nithyavraman but 0 votes for @spencerpratt,” one X user wrote.

“Nope. Pratt gained 10,336 votes in today’s update,” the registrar-recorder’s office replied.  

“Why do you accept ballots 7 days after election DAY?” another user wrote.

“State law,” came the reply.

It’s an atypical style for a government agency, but also a direct response to the climate, said Jessica Levinson, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University who specializes in election law. 

“It’s a government body that typically just puts its head down and does its job,” Levinson said. “But the county registrar knows that there’s a danger to not speaking out. There’s a significant danger to leaving the record uncorrected, and letting people think that delays mean fraud.”

The claims have largely come from Pratt supporters, who’ve alleged that Raman’s growing share of the vote is somehow its own proof of fraud. (The post-election-day surge or flip is actually a frequent dynamic in L.A. elections: Progressive candidates usually gain more of the late vote share because younger, more diverse voters tend to return their mail-in ballots on Election Day rather than voting early or in person.)

President Trump stoked the conspiracy flames over the weekend, making unproven assertions that California officials were “cheating.”

Some local Republican figures, however, have been more moderated in their response.

Roxanne Hoge, chairwoman of the L.A. County Republican Party, has repeatedly sought to quell or debunk charges of voter fraud, asserting that California’s election procedures are “rotten,” but legal. 

“This morass that the country is seeing and calling fraud — which is completely legal and codified in California — is the basis for the landscape,” she told the conservative influencer Benny Johnson on Monday.

(The L.A. County Republican Party’s official page, however, has retweeted posts alleging outright fraud.)

Bill Essayli, the Trump administration’s top federal prosecutor in Southern California, set off a frenzy on X when he said his office had opened multiple investigations into election fraud. But hours later, he posted again, this time to debunk a false claim widely circulated by Pratt supporters.

Pratt, for his part, at one point insinuated that every vote counted for Raman since Wednesday was from a homeless person, then later appeared to implore his followers to respect the counting process.

HOLLYWOOD HOAX: Scammers are impersonating some of Hollywood’s most prominent casting directors to try and extract money from early-career actors. At least one scammer even impersonated “Avatar” casting director Margery Simkin’s voice to send a voice note to their mark.

TRUST ME: The most popular items ordered for delivery in L.A. from Postmates all come from Sugarfish, according to the app. Also, one dedicated Postmates user ordered from the Beverly Hills Erewhon 467 times last year.

PRIVATE CIRCUIT: Imagine a country club, but instead of golfing, you race exotic cars around a private racetrack. Several such clubs for well-heeled auto enthusiasts are popping up in Southern California.

BEACH WALK: An L.A. Times contributor walked the county’s entire 75-mile coastline and wrote a guide to the best beach walks.

BEACH BUDGET BOONDOGGLE: Manhattan Beach parents have long hosted glitzy fundraisers to support the city’s gleaming public school system. But as the district’s budgets grow more precarious, they’ve taken a new tack: lobbying the state to change how it funds schools. L.A. Material’s Nicole LaPorte has a report from the front lines of fundraisers and school board meetings in the beach city. 

A sweet 1916 Craftsman in Van Nuys

The warm, dark wood paneling and original built-ins in the downstairs living space of this house are a real Craftsman dream. (Though the staging decision to put a TV in what is very clearly a built-in reading nook is rough, but at least it's tempered by proximity to the vintage-looking wood-burning stove in the living room.) Per the listing, this historic home is modernized with central HVAC and a new roof. There’s also a pool in the lushly landscaped yard and a detached studio. The house — listed at $1.05 million — has two bedrooms and two bathrooms and is relatively cozy at 1,370 square feet. 

AND FINALLY… A poem to pair with your morning coffee: “Knoxville, Tennessee” by Nikki Giovanni.

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