California's Slow Vote Count Stirs Frustration, But Changes Would Be Hard

Over nan past decade, California became a nationalist leader successful elector accessibility and security, expanding options for erstwhile and really ballots tin beryllium formed while besides strengthening predetermination safeguards.

But those reforms came astatine a cost: speed. And successful a governmental ambiance wherever unsupported conspiracies astir predetermination fraud tin tally rampant connected societal media — pushed, astatine times, by apical governmental leaders — immoderate fearfulness nan slow ballot count is becoming a liability.

Election outcomes successful caller years person go much drawn retired successful California, astir precocious taking about a week to find nan gubernatorial and Los Angeles mayoral candidates advancing to November’s runoff aft hotly contested primaries. And successful anterior years, it’s taken moreover longer to find tight U.S. House aliases state Senate seats.

That trade-off — predetermination accessibility and information complete speedy results — has agelong been defended arsenic a byproduct of California’s desire to make it arsenic easy arsenic imaginable to formed a ballot while ensuring accuracy and integrity, thing backers opportunity remains captious to a thriving democracy.

But immoderate experts opportunity nan expanding backlash complete nan slow ballot count sows distrust.

“We’ve allowed nan agelong count to beryllium normalized, … but that doesn’t mean it’s normal,” said Kim Alexander, president of nan nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, who has go an advocator for accelerating nan state’s ballot count. “There’s nary mobility that elector assurance is eroding.”

A slower ballot count does not awesome immoderate denotation of fraud, contempt unfounded claims complete nan past week by President Trump and others. Election officials and nonpartisan groups make clear that elector fraud remains highly uncommon successful nan U.S., and there’s been nary grounds of immoderate specified issues successful California’s latest superior count.

But studies person found that elector spot slides arsenic results lag, and this superior made clear that disinformation gains much traction nan longer contests resistance on, particularly pinch lead changes.

That came to walk this primary, peculiarly arsenic reality TV characteristic Spencer Pratt slowly mislaid his first second-place ranking successful nan L.A. mayor’s race, earlier later batches of votes bumped him from nan runoff — fueling an onslaught of societal media hysteria: claims of alleged corruption and vote dumping, misinformed examples of alleged fraud and right-wing disinformation campaigns.

But making immoderate substantive changes — peculiarly earlier November’s wide predetermination — would beryllium an uphill battle, particularly successful deep-blue California, wherever Democrats thin to defy limits to elector access. And immoderate are urging restraint.

“We should ne'er thrust argumentation based connected conspiracy theories and lies,” said David Becker, nan executive head of nan nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research. “That said, are location things California tin do?”

Some suggestions, specified arsenic accrued backing for region predetermination offices and much acquisition astir early voting, would astir apt make immoderate difference.

But nan crux of nan slow count comes from a flood of last-minute mail-in ballots — successful a authorities pinch astir one-eighth of nan U.S. population. When a ample percent of California’s voters message aliases driblet disconnected these ballots connected aliases conscionable earlier predetermination time — arsenic they thin to — it creates what Alexander calls nan “pig successful nan python” effect: a awesome backlog of labor-intensive ballots to process, successful a authorities that already handles nan largest-volume ballot counts.

While verification occurs simultaneously during in-person voting, predetermination officials successful California are required to corroborate a voter’s registration status, verify each voter’s signature and guarantee each personification did not ballot elsewhere for each vote-by-mail ballot. Becker called it an “intensively quality process” that cannot beryllium sped done — but could beryllium dispersed retired by much early voting.

“It is simply a batch easier to study results retired faster erstwhile ballots travel successful sooner,” Becker said.

Altering that process importantly capable to easiness that bottleneck would apt travel pinch different trade-offs, experts said, specified arsenic earlier deadlines to move successful definite ballots aliases much time-consuming ballot drop-offs — either of which mightiness dissuade immoderate voters from showing up. Mail-in ballots person overwhelmingly go Californians favourite measurement to vote, pinch much than 80% of voters utilizing that method successful each predetermination since 2020.

But California didn’t go known for slow ballot counting overnight. Since nan move of nan millennium, nan authorities has taken respective steps to summation elector entree by expanding options for how, erstwhile and wherever voters tin formed their ballot, while besides strengthening its processes to go what nan caput of state’s agency calls “the strongest voting information standards successful nan country.”

Those changes person included same-day elector registration, much early voting options, replacing neighborhood-specific polling places pinch ballot centers, and astir notably, universal vote-by-mail, which successful 2021 required that each registered voters beryllium mailed their ballot, which tin beryllium mailed back, returned to a unafraid driblet container aliases ballot halfway aliases ignored if nan elector opts to ballot successful person.

Many Democratic voters this twelvemonth waited to move successful their ballots due to nan crowded excavation of gubernatorial candidates, which astir apt exacerbated nan already-slow process.

Still, that was expected. Election watchdogs and statement officials from some parties tried to temper Californians’ expectations astir nan timing of results from nan primary, reminding voters that it would apt return days if not weeks to telephone adjacent races.

But erstwhile that nonstop process began to play retired — peculiarly successful nan highly tight contests for California politician and Los Angeles politician — it almost instantly brought disapproval and concern.

“None of nan optics are good,” complained Roxanne Hoge, chair of nan Los Angeles County Republican Party. “None of this is designed to animate confidence.”

As Gov. Gavin Newsom’s agency tried to dispel misinformation astir California’s ballot tabulation process, nan connection also said, “For nan record: we wish nan votes were counted faster, too.”

Not only would a speedier predetermination count amended elector trust, which tin often summation participation, Alexander said, it would besides alteration harassment of predetermination workers and thief recently elected candidates measurement into their caller roles faster — and destruct a agelong limbo play for nan losing candidate.

“We tin get it correct and do it faster, and we should,” Alexander said.

A 2023 law allowed counties to supply voters an opportunity to formed their vote-by-mail ballot arsenic an in-person ballot, by submitting it sans letter cover and signing for it astatine a ballot center, which reduces nan verification process required by predetermination workers. About half of California counties person adopted immoderate action of this expedited process, according to nan California Voter Foundation, immoderate calling it “Sign, scan and go!” aliases nan “naked ballot” option, but much wide implementation of this could thief velocity up nan count, Alexander said. Los Angeles County, which processes much ballots than galore states, has not yet implemented this time-saving option.

California besides allows ballots, if postmarked by predetermination day, to beryllium accepted up to a week aft polls adjacent — though that argumentation whitethorn soon beryllium forced to alteration depending really nan Supreme Court rules connected a lawsuit challenging ballots arriving aft predetermination day. Still, these late-arriving ballots don’t relationship for a ample stock of nan delays successful California: successful 2024, only astir 2.5% of each ballots arrived successful nan message aft predetermination day.

But immoderate predetermination observers constituent retired that moreover erstwhile compared pinch states pinch likewise tally elections, California still lags behind.

“California simply counts nan ballots it has excessively slow and its elections offices are underfunded,” predetermination analysts Eli McKown-Dawson and Nate Silver precocious wrote successful a Substack piece. “If you want group to beryllium assured successful your electoral system, a bully first measurement is to build 1 that useful properly.”

And while seven different states besides automatically message voters ballots, experts opportunity it’s difficult to make nonstop comparisons pinch California. Some critics often constituent to Colorado arsenic an illustration of a authorities pinch likewise ubiquitous mail-in voting, yet a overmuch faster count than California. But nan standard of states’ elections are truthful different: In 2024, California processed astir 13 cardinal vote-by-mail ballots; not moreover 3 cardinal were counted successful Colorado.

Some person besides pointed retired that contempt each nan ways California has worked to grow elector accessibility, turnout hasn’t dramatically changed. California remains comparatively successful nan mediate of nan battalion erstwhile it comes to voter turnout crossed nan U.S., and while nan authorities has seen immoderate spikes successful turnout during definite predetermination years, there’s been nary noticeable uptick complete nan past 15 years, according to a reappraisal of data from 2008 to 2024.

But Becker contended that location are galore factors that tin power elector turnout, successful particular, California’s beardown bluish tilt.

“Perceived competitiveness” — aliases deficiency thereof — often keeps voters from nan polls, arsenic tin uninspiring campaigns aliases moreover nan weather, Becker said, but he was adamant that shouldn’t beryllium a logic to make it harder for group to vote.

“Accessibility is ever worthy it,” Becker said.

Hoge, nan GOP chair, had a different take, highlighting concerns astir nan elector registration process arsenic good arsenic nan slow count — though she has been clear that nan second doesn’t needfully awesome fraud.

She has continued to push a much tempered communicative to galore Republican leaders, including from nan White House. On X, she shared a station that fact-checked a photograph of ballot tabulations from L.A. County, which appeared to — erroneously — show reality TV characteristic Spencer Pratt receiving nary caller votes successful a regular ballot count. And she boosted a video that dispelled rumors astir Democrats stealing votes and ones astir wide fraud successful California’s process.

“It’s a horrible roller coaster,” Hoge said astir California’s predetermination results. “It doesn’t make sense, and nan truth that you’re conscionable noticing it coming doesn’t mean that it’s recently not making sense. ... But until we win, we can’t alteration it.”

No matter what California mightiness alteration aliases improve, Becker said he is assured it won’t extremity nan disapproval aliases campaigns of misinformation. He besides said that astir elections successful California are called comparatively quickly — return nan state’s prime for president, which is usually confirmed connected predetermination nighttime — but it’s a mini stock of highly tight races that return longer, because they require a much complete count to telephone a winner.

“It doesn’t matter really accelerated California counts its ballots, … we would beryllium seeing akin conspiracy theories, possibly conscionable pinch a different framing,” Becker said. “California ends up being a very effective bogeyman.”

Staff writer Kevin Rector contributed to this report.