California Is Giving Election Deniers a Ready Excuse

Yes, California tabulates ballots slowly. But don’t do what Gavin Newsom did and blame election workers. Blame the state’s politicians, especially Newsom and the California State Assembly.

At 8 a.m. on June 3, the morning after its statewide primary, the New York Times estimated that California had tabulated 58 percent of the ballots in its gubernatorial primary.

Yesterday (June 4) afternoon, the state had yet to cross 60% according to the same poll tracker. 

This is completely consistent with previous California elections. It’s also a disaster in the making. Control of the U.S. House of Representatives after the November 3 midterm elections could hinge on a few competitive districts in California. We likely won’t know the winners of those contests until the Friday after election day at the earliest, and quite possibly many days later.

Many Americans will be confused about the delay and suspicious about its cause. In today’s nationalized politics, with a nationwide media focus, normal Americans don’t understand why most states know who won their races within hours of the polls closing, but not California. That’s not just an inconvenience for impatient people; it’s the origin of distrust in the electoral system. Political scientists have found that “longer-than-expected vote counting time induces a large, significant decrease in trust in the election.”

The concerns of normal Americans will of course be inflamed by liars, grifters, conflict merchants, and MAGA politicians who point to prolonged election results as evidence of cheating. Just a few months ago, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson held up California as an example of why some Republicans want to see more federal control of elections. “We had three House Republican candidates who were ahead on Election Day, in the last election cycle, and every time a new tranche of ballots came in they just magically whittled away until their leads were lost. … It looks on its face to be fraudulent,” he said. “Can I prove that? No, because it happened so far upstream.” 

Speaker Johnson should know better (and he likely does). California mails a ballot to every registered voter (it’s an “all mail” state). According to the California Voter Foundation, 25 percent of California’s vote arrives on election day, by mail or by drop off. Election officials can’t immediately count those ballots. They must first scan the ballot packet to ensure the voter hasn’t already voted in person; they must then examine the voter’s signature to confirm identity; they must check if the ballot is torn or otherwise damaged; they must adjudicate any stray or unclear pen marks; and they must document all those steps. Only then can results be reported. Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation, calls it the “pig-in-the-python” effect. It takes days for the python to digest the pig—in this case, millions of mail ballots. 

Added to this, California law allows mail ballots to arrive at county election offices up to seven days after an election day as long as they are postmarked on that election day. If Americans are complaining five days after the fact about results not yet being final in California, it’s possible that California election officials haven’t even yet received all the eligible ballots.

Eight years ago, delayed results would have just been a nuisance. In 2026, with election denialism still at a fever pitch, it could lead to violent outbursts or legal fights over whether or not to seat certain members of the new Congress.

Newsom knows the stakes. He also knows that California’s election practices are increasingly a black eye on the state and on his reputation. In February, the New York Times editorial board wrote, “California’s Slow Vote Counting Is a Gift to Republicans.” Political statistician Nate Silver said this week that California elections are “failed state s–t and should be much more stigmatized.” 

Newsom’s solution? Election officials should work harder and count faster. “We must do all that we can to tabulate votes quickly and accurately,” he wrote last month in a letter to county registrars. “Time is of the essence in preventing election lies from taking hold.”

That’s more than a bit rich coming from the governor. He’s never worked an election. He hasn’t signed laws that will materially speed up the count. And he hasn’t allocated new funds to fix the problem. 

What Newsom has done is sign three ceremonial bills that do nothing to address the issues. Assembly Bill 5, passed in 2025, reduced the period for completing California’s counting from 30 days to 13. But there are all sorts of exceptions. And it does nothing to help with the first 72 hours—the period in which Americans expect to learn who won an election. Assembly Bill 16 allows election officials to begin processing mail ballots as soon as they are received. Previously, election officials could begin counting 29 days before election day. Very few ballots arrive more than 29 days out from an election anyway, so AB16 is largely worthless. Finally, Assembly Bill 827 shortens the deadline by which voters are permitted to correct their ballot envelope signatures (a process known as “curing”) from an extremely absurd 26 days after election day to an only-slightly-less-absurd 22 days. 

Despite the lack of progress these bills represent, there are steps Newsom can still take to improve the situation in time for November 3. He should:

1. Allocate new funding for election administration. Laws and voter practices are at the heart of California’s slow counting. But by simply having more physical space and election workers, counties would be better equipped to handle the glut of mail ballots that arrive on election day. Los Angeles and Orange counties recently improved their tabulation speed by investing millions of county dollars in expanded spaces and staffing.
    
2. Expand in-person early voting. Right now, only 30 of the state’s 58 counties are “Voter Choice Act” counties, which allow 10-plus days of early voting. All counties should have at least 10 days of early in-person voting that includes at least some weekend days. This would encourage Californians to vote earlier and give election officials more time to process ballots.
    
3. Get rid of late-voting days. California currently allows seven days for mail ballots to arrive at election offices after an election day if they are postmarked on that day. This is silly. Mail ballots go out 29 days before election day—that’s plenty of time to return them by mail. The state should require that mail ballots be in the hands of election officials by election day.
    
4. Promote early ballot returns. As requested by Assembly member Gail Pellerin, California should fund a campaign to encourage voters to return their ballots early. Voters should know that if they’re holding onto mail ballots until the day of the election, they’re part of the problem.

Would these four steps totally solve the problem? No. But it will make the situation much better. And it’s a lot more productive than Newsom simply telling election officials they need to work harder.