California Democrats Decline Changes to Speed Up Vote Counting

Democratic leaders in California have stated they will not pursue changes that would reduce voter access in order to produce faster election results. The state's primary vote count took a week before enough ballots were tallied to call the governor's race. Officials said the delay stems mainly from the high number of mail ballots received on or just before Election Day.

Mail ballots require signature verification and manual review for roughly 70 percent of submissions because scanners detect exact matches for only about 30 percent of ballots. County registrars said they lack space and equipment to process the volume in a single night. He noted that staff worked 19 consecutive days, including early voting periods.

California does not provide ongoing state funding to counties for election operations. Orange County spent $4 million on new mail ballot processing equipment and completed more than 807,000 ballots in slightly more than a week. Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, chair of the Assembly elections committee, said the current process is proceeding normally and that officials are working around the clock.

She added that faster results would require earlier mail deadlines or a return to in-person voting. Secretary of State Shirley Weber has said accuracy takes priority over speed. She is expected to seek another four-year term this fall.