OAN Staff Katherine Mosack and Brooke Mallory
4:28 PM – Tuesday, November 4, 2025
President Trump denounced California’s mail-in voting system and its controversial redistricting measure, labeling the process a “GIANT SCAM” and declaring that all mail-in ballots were under “very serious legal and criminal review” by his administration.
On Tuesday morning, Trump took to Truth Social to share his thoughts on Prop 50.
The president did not specify which agencies or entities would review California’s voting processes, though the Department of Justice announced it would deploy federal poll observers to sites in five counties, per a request from the California Republican Party.
If the proposition passes, as recent polls suggest it will, control of the state’s congressional map would shift from the independent commission established by voters in 2008 to the Democrat-led legislature, which would redraw districts through 2030.
The proposed map is expected to net Democrats five additional House seats.
Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) has pushed the measure since Texas Republicans approved new maps earlier this year. Should Prop 50 fail, though extremely unlikely, California’s congressional districts will remain unchanged until after the 2030 census.
Following the 2020 presidential election, marked by a surge in mail-in voting, Trump has consistently opposed the practice. Mail-in voting in the U.S. is also not the same as in most other countries that allow postal voting, as the U.S. system is unusually permissive and decentralized in comparison to international norms.
In March, Trump signed an Executive Order directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate states that count absentee or mail-in ballots received after Election Day, with non-compliant states risking the loss of federal funding. Additionally, in August, Trump directed the drafting of another Executive Order to eliminate mail-in voting entirely.
He later prevailed in a lawsuit against Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where a court ruled that voters had been improperly denied the opportunity to submit mail-in ballots while waiting in line before the deadline. Federal election observers will monitor Los Angeles, Orange, Kern, Riverside, and Fresno counties in California.
Following the most recent announcement, Newsom objected to the DOJ’s involvement in a post on X:
“This administration has made no secret of its goal to undermine free and fair elections. Deploying these federal forces appears to be an intimidation tactic meant for one thing: suppress the vote,” he complained.
However, under the Biden administration, Biden’s DOJ sent federal election observers to jurisdictions across 27 states for the 2024 election, including California, as well. Observers act as witnesses to confirm fair processes, boost public confidence, and address potential irregularities.
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