California’s slow vote count stirs frustration, but changes would be hard
Over the past decade, California has become a national leader in voter accessibility and security; It expanded options for when and how votes can be cast while also strengthening election protections.
But these reforms came at a price: speed. And in a political climate where unsupported conspiracies about election fraud can run rampant on social media (sometimes encouraged by senior political leaders), some fear slow vote counting could become a problem.
In California, election results in recent years have taken even longer; Most recently, it took nearly a week to determine the gubernatorial and Los Angeles mayoral candidates heading into November’s runoff elections, following hotly contested primaries. In previous years, it took even longer to determine the number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives or State Senate.
This trade-off (security over election accessibility and quick results) has been made for a long time defended As a byproduct of California’s desire to make voting as easy as possible accuracy and integrityIt’s something supporters say is vital to a thriving democracy.
But some experts say the growing backlash over slow vote counting is fueling distrust.
“We allowed the long count to be normalized, but that doesn’t mean it’s normal,” said Kim Alexander, chairman of the nonpartisan party. California Voter Foundationhas become an advocate for speeding up vote counting in the state. “There is no question that voter confidence has eroded.”
Despite false claims from President Trump and others last week, the slower vote count does not indicate any signs of fraud. Election officials and nonpartisan groups have made clear that voter fraud is extremely rare in the U.S. and that California’s latest primary counts found no evidence of such problems.
But research has found that: Voter confidence declines as results are delayed, and this primary makes clear that disinformation gains more traction as contests drag on, especially with leadership changes.
This was especially the case in this primary as reality TV star Spencer Pratt slowly lost his initial second place in the Los Angeles mayoral race, with later voting parties kicking him out of the runoff; which fueled the onslaught of social media hysteria: alleged corruption and corruption allegations vote dumping, Examples of misinformed fraudulent claims and right-wing disinformation campaigns.
But making any significant changes before the general election in November will be an uphill battle, especially in deep-blue California, where Democrats tend to resist limits on voter access. And some are calling for restraint.
“We should never conduct policy based on conspiracy theories and lies,” said David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research. “Are there things California can do with this?”
Some suggestions, such as more funding for county elections offices and more education on early voting, would likely make some difference.
But the crux of the slow count comes from last-minute mail-in ballots in a state home to about one-eighth of the U.S. population. A large percentage of voters in California mail or drop off these ballots on or just before election day (as they often do), creating what Alexander calls the “pig in the python” effect: a massive backlog of labor-intensive ballots to process in a state that already conducts the largest volume of ballot counts.
While verification occurs simultaneously during in-person voting, election officials in California must confirm a voter’s registration status, verify each voter’s signature, and with mail-in voting ensure that each person has not voted elsewhere. Becker called it an “intensely humanitarian process” that could not be accelerated but could be expanded through earlier voting.
“When ballots arrive earlier, it is much easier to report results faster,” Becker said.
Changing that process significantly enough to ease the bottleneck would likely involve other trade-offs, experts said; for example, earlier deadlines for the delivery of certain ballots or ballots that take more time to be dropped off; Both of these situations may deter some voters from participating. Voting by mail has become the favorite method of voting for the vast majority of Californians; More than 80% of voters have used this method in every election since 2020.
But California did not become known for its slow overnight vote count. Since the turn of the millennium, the state has taken several steps to increase voter access by expanding options for how, when and where voters can vote, while also strengthening voting processes. What does the foreign minister say? “The strongest voting security standards in the country.”
These changes include same-day voter registration, earlier voting options, replacing precinct-specific polling places with vote centers and, most importantly, a universal vote-by-mail system in 2021 that requires all registered voters to have their ballots mailed back, returned to a secure drop box or vote center, or ignored if the voter prefers to vote in person.
This year, many Democratic voters waited to cast their ballots because of the crowded field of gubernatorial candidates, likely exacerbating an already slow process.
Still, this was expected. Election observers and party officials from both parties have sought to temper Californians’ expectations about the timing of primary election results, reminding voters that calling close races will likely take days, if not weeks.
But just as that process began to play out — especially in the extremely tight contests for governor of California and mayor of Los Angeles — it brought almost immediate criticism and concern.
“No optics are good,” complained Roxanne Hoge, chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Republican Party. “None of this is designed to inspire confidence.”
Statement as Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office works to dispel misinformation about California’s ballot process also said“For the record: I wish the votes had been counted faster.”
Alexander said a faster election count would not only increase voter confidence, which can generally increase turnout, but also reduce harassment of election workers and help newly elected candidates step into their new roles more quickly, eliminating a long period of uncertainty for the losing candidate.
“We can and must do it right and faster,” Alexander said.
A. 2023 law counties were allowed to offer voters the opportunity to vote in person by mail ballot by sending it without an envelope and signing it at a vote center; This reduces the verification process required by election workers. About half of California counties have adopted an option of this expedited process, some calling it “Sign, scan, and go!”, according to the California Voter Foundation. gives its name. Alexander said the “naked ballot” option is also valid, but more widespread implementation of it could help speed up the counting process. Los Angeles County, which processes more ballots than most counties, has not yet implemented this time-saving option.
California also allows ballots to be accepted up to a week after polls close if they are postmarked by Election Day; but that policy may have to change soon, depending on the Supreme Court’s decision in a case challenging ballots arriving after Election Day. Still, late-arriving ballots don’t account for the majority of delays in California: In 2024, only 2.5% of all ballots arrived by mail after Election Day.
But some election observers say California’s performance is poor even when compared to states that hold similar elections. still lagging behind.
“California is counting the votes it has too slowly and its election offices are underfunded,” election analysts Eli McKown-Dawson and Nate Silver recently wrote wrote in a Substack piece. “If you want people to trust your election system, the first step is to create a system that works properly.”
And meanwhile seven other states And because voters’ ballots are automatically mailed, experts say it’s difficult to make direct comparisons with California. Some critics often point to Colorado as an example of a state where mail-in voting is similarly ubiquitous, but where counting is much faster than in California. But the scale of state elections is so different: In 2024, California processed nearly 13 million mail ballots; In Colorado, not even 3 million were counted.
Some also pointed out that turnout hasn’t changed significantly despite all the work California has done to increase voter accessibility. California falls relatively in the middle of the pack when it comes to Voter turnout across the USand while the state has seen some increases in turnout in certain election years, there has been no noticeable increase in the past 15 years, according to one review. Data from 2008 to 2024.
But Becker suggested there are many factors that could influence voter turnout, particularly California’s strong blue bias.
Becker said “Perceived competitiveness” – or lack thereof – often keeps voters away from the polls, as does uninspiring campaigning or even weather conditions, but he was adamant that this should not be a reason that makes it harder for people to vote.
“Accessibility is always worth it,” Becker said.
GOP chairman Hoge took a different approach, highlighting concerns about the voter registration process and slow counting. was open that the latter does not necessarily indicate fraud.
He continued to push tougher rhetoric on many Republican leaders, including in the White House. In x, it shared a fact-checked post A photo of vote tallies from L.A. County mistakenly showed reality TV star Spencer Pratt receiving no new votes in the daily vote count. And he raised it by one video This dispelled rumors about Democrats stealing votes and widespread fraud in the California process.
“This is a terrible rollercoaster,” Hoge said of the election results in California. “It doesn’t make sense, and just because you’re realizing it today doesn’t mean it doesn’t mean something new. … But we can’t change that until we win.”
No matter what changes or develops in California, Becker said he’s confident it won’t stop criticism or misinformation campaigns. He also said that while most elections in California are settled relatively quickly (take the state’s presidential election, which is typically certified on election night), a small portion of extremely tight races take longer because they require a more complete count to determine the winner.
“It doesn’t matter how quickly California counts ballots…we may see similar conspiracy theories, maybe just with a different framework,” Becker said. “California is becoming a very effective bogeyman.”
Staff writer Kevin Rector contributed to this report.
