SouthernWorldwide.com – California’s election results remain unsettled, a situation attributed to the state’s vote-by-mail system, according to election law expert Hans von Spakovsky. He noted that this process can prolong the verification and counting of ballots for days, and sometimes even weeks, after Election Day.
The Golden State is still in the process of counting ballots cast in its June 2 primary elections. This extended timeline is a consequence of California’s election laws, administrative procedures, and vote-counting policies, von Spakovsky explained. The delay is not due to an isolated incident or an unexpected complication, but rather stems from the inherent structure of its electoral system before final results can be certified.
The mayoral race in Los Angeles has garnered national attention. Republican-aligned candidate Spencer Pratt is awaiting the final tally to determine if he or Democrat-aligned Nithya Raman will advance to the runoff election in November. They will face incumbent Democrat Karen Bass. In another race, former Health and Human Services Secretary under the Biden administration, Xavier Becerra, along with Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Tom Steyer, are still competing for the top two positions in the state’s jungle primary process, ahead of the general election in November.
Von Spakovsky has identified four primary reasons for the delay in the final vote tallies. These include the widespread use of mail-in voting, a seven-day window for receiving ballots after Election Day, a 22-day period for voters to “cure” signature discrepancies, and a high volume of provisional ballots that require individual investigation.
Among these four factors, von Spakovsky expressed the most significant concern regarding California’s mail-in ballot rules, stating they dramatically slow down the counting process. Given that the vast majority of ballots are cast by mail, election officials must dedicate additional time to verifying and processing these ballots before they can be counted, thereby extending the timeline for the final results.
“You can vote in person, but in the 2024 election, out of 16 million votes cast in the presidential election, 13 million were by mail. It takes significantly longer to process a mail-in ballot compared to a ballot cast at a polling place,” he stated.
Mail-in ballots offer voters the convenience of casting their votes from home and avoiding long queues. Their popularity surged during the pandemic.
Ballots continue to be submitted, and once received, counties are granted additional time to process, verify, and tabulate them. The counting process is expected to extend through June 15.
Von Spakovsky highlighted the postmarks on ballots as a key vulnerability in the counting process.
“California law states that we will count absentee or mail-in ballots received up to seven days after Election Day, provided they are postmarked by Election Day. However, if the postmark is missing or illegible, we will proceed based on the date the voter wrote inside the envelope,” he explained.
He argued that the state’s election rules are too lenient. He pointed to policies such as the absence of voter ID requirements, automatic voter registration, and extended post-election ballot processing periods, which he believes create opportunities for fraud or irregularities.
California is one of eight states, along with Washington, D.C., that automatically sends mail ballots to all active registered voters under its universal vote-by-mail policy.
President Donald Trump has also commented on the state’s election process, announcing that U.S. attorneys are investigating the situation in Los Angeles as the mayoral race remains unresolved.
“Without commenting on any specific investigation, my office has multiple election fraud investigations underway in coordination with @FBILosAngeles,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli wrote on X on Thursday. “We will follow the evidence wherever it leads and prosecute any violations of federal election law to the fullest extent.”
“The state has stonewalled every effort to verify that only eligible U.S. citizens are registered to vote. This case is now before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. My office will not look the other way. We will investigate and prosecute. Every legal vote deserves to be counted. Every illegal vote cancels one out,” he added.
Democrats have largely downplayed concerns about the ballot counting process. Xavier Becerra, for instance, stated that those who complain about the time it takes are working “to undermine confidence in our elections.”
“We count every ballot. Thank you for your patience as we give democracy time to work,” Tom Steyer wrote on X, referencing Trump’s recent comments about the election.
Viral rumors have circulated on social media since June 2, including claims that Spencer Pratt did not receive a single vote out of approximately 24,000 Los Angeles ballots that were recently processed.
In May, the California governor sent a letter to state election officials urging them to tabulate the upcoming elections swiftly. The letter emphasized the importance of building and maintaining confidence in the voting process.
“We must continue building confidence in our elections and ensure not only that every vote is counted, but that every vote is trusted. We must acknowledge that the longer the voting count takes, the more mis- and disinformation spreads. That means we must do all that we can to tabulate votes quickly and accurately. Time is of the essence in preventing election lies from taking hold,” he wrote.
