Why does anyone have a problem with fraud-free voting in California? 

Whether it’s one fraudulent vote or many: It’s wrong, it dilutes duly cast votes, and it undermines public faith in the electoral system, in the outcomes of close races — and in democracy itself.

That’s why the federal government’s push to root out noncitizen voters, in California and other states, is both welcome and reassuring. 

And why California’s stubborn refusal to cooperate is perhaps perplexing. Why abide or excuse any election fraud?

The Trump administration said on Monday that it had charged six more noncitizens with misrepresenting their citizenship status in order to vote in federal elections; in all, the feds have charged 34 people in California as part of Operation Protect the Vote. 

Good. Those moves should help reassure state voters who complete their ballots or head to the polls this week.

Also on Monday, the US Supreme Court rejected an emergency appeal by the Trump administration to sequester 20,000 ballots of suspected noncitizens in LA County. Lower courts last month had declined to order the ballots set aside so that those voters’ eligibility could be double-checked before the votes were counted.

An audit could have settled the issue, rather than leaving voters to wonder why California was stonewalling — and what it may have had to hide.

Despite the state and judicial roadblocks, voters can take heart that their votes still matter: that they still have a say.

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They can also do their part to end noncitizen voting by supporting Prop. 39, the voter ID law on this week’s ballot. It’s a simple, commonsense step: Require in-person voters to show ID, and mail-in voters to write an ID number on their ballot envelopes. 

It’s hardly a novel or onerous ask; 36 states already require some form of voter ID in elections. 

Yet California officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta, oppose that too. Why?

State “leaders” first insisted there was no voter fraud, then said the fraud is too marginal to affect outcomes, and now say the Trump administration’s push to end the fraud is political. 

Regardless of how prevalent it is, or who’s pushing to end it, voter fraud is wrong. It neutralizes honest votes — and can even help determine outcomes in razor-close races.

Besides, whatever the excuses, voting by noncitizens is illegal under California and federal law. 

So why, again, does anyone have a problem with fraud-free balloting?

It’s a question state voters should ponder.