Americans should expect, at a minimum, to have elections that are free and fair, and results that are delivered promptly. But California is taking its laid-back reputation too far, failing to deliver its election results in a timely manner and creating the perception that they are neither free nor fair.
Slothful election results have plagued California for years since it made wholesale changes to its election system in 2016. It has mass mail-in ballots that can be counted post-election and allows for an extremely slow pace of counting.
Proponents of the system say this makes their elections more “secure” and accessible.
You won’t be surprised to learn that Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, insists that this is the best voting system of all time and that all criticism is FAKE NEWS.
But that’s certainly not how it looks.
As of now, the Los Angeles mayoral runoff would seem to be down to incumbent Democrat Karen Bass and the surging upstart Republican Spencer Pratt, with leftist candidate Nithya Raman taking the third spot. That would cut Raman out of the general election.
Raman cried on election night and certainly seemed convinced that she’d lost.
But since election day, new batches of mail-in votes have continued to trickle in for Raman. Even more curiously, electoral prediction markets have swung strongly in her favor.
Why would it be a surprise that many are calling foul?
It’s been days since the primary election took place. Bass and Pratt seemed like the clear winners. If Raman somehow catches Pratt, it would be a massive victory for Democrats to not only cut off a popular, rising GOP star but to ensure that the only choice in November will be one far-left Democrat and another, farther-left Democrat.
Election prediction markets should be taken with a grain of salt, but the fact that we are so far from election day and we are still so far from resolution is, frankly, shameful.
The problem isn’t just the mayor’s race. Votes continue to be counted for the other major elections in the state, too, and likely won’t be settled for weeks.
Just look at this nonsense.
It’s deeply symbolic that the Golden State—allegedly at the cutting edge of technology—can’t get its act together to fulfill the most basic functions of “democracy.”
California is right to be ripped for delivering election results as if we are living in the days before the invention of the telegraph.
The state is run by the party of big government, but that government can’t be bothered to run anything effectively, efficiently, or at a standard above what would be considered dysfunctional even in a third-world country.
This has created the impression that not only is the system broken, but that the powers that be in this one-party state are in the business of finding the votes they need to win every race, regardless of what happens on election day.
This perception has triggered a deluge of commentary on social media.
“Count until you get the result you want?” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, asked on X.
Florida has a remarkably smooth and effective vote-counting system. See, even the most broken election system can be fixed.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote that California’s process is undermining trust in elections.
And President Donald Trump blasted the California slow roll vote-counting in a post on Truth Social. He said that there would be a federal investigation.
“There’s BIG cheating by the Dumocrats in California,” Trump wrote. “Votes are all tied up. May not be in for weeks. Under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Why the vote counting DELAY???”
He later posted that California is basically an advertisement for passing the Save America Act, which would require proof of citizenship in voting and ban mass mail-in ballots.
Even some on the left are starting to acknowledge that California’s elections are intolerable.
Liberal journalist Nate Silver said that it’s “kind of insane” that it takes California weeks to resolve an election.
“Like honestly ‘it’s going to take us several weeks to tell you who won the election’ is failed state s— and should be much more stigmatized,” he wrote on Tuesday. “The fact that it’s tolerated is bad too, a textbook example of learned helplessness.”
A piece in the reliably left-leaning Los Angeles Times even ran with a headline, “Can we speed up California’s vote count already?” and had interviews with local election officials who said that the slow counting “undermines voter confidence.”
Yet, it seems that California state leaders have no interest in changing anything. You’ll accept this cumbersome, broken, infuriating process whether you like it or not.
Thank goodness for the Electoral College, which at least limits the damage states like California can inflict on the rest of the country.
Jarrett Stepman is a columnist for The Daily Signal. He is also the author of “The War on History: The Conspiracy to Rewrite America’s Past.”
Reprinted with Permission from The Daily Signal – By Jarrett Stepman
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
How convenient that all those late mail in ballots are for the socialist liberal demoncrats non for Republican Pratt. Really, even a blind man can see the corruption and vote rigging in California.
Elections need to be decided and called on election day or the day after no late mail in ballots period.
The cheating by the Democrats continues. No surprise here. Anything to eliminate the Republican candidate.
There’s not another country that takes more than 24 hours to count votes–even 3rd world–that I have seen. The fraud is blatant; and why not? when there has been absolutely NO consequences for the guilty.
This gives them plenty of time to “find” the necessary votes for the D to win.
This is Old news. This has been going on forever and everyone seems to accept it. Its not Incompetence. Its total Commie Democratic Corruption.
California doesn’t care about Voter Confidence, it only cares about cheating till the Democrats win! The Feds need to step in here and FINALLY put a stop to this nonsense!
The vast majority of the counties in CA are populated by Conservatives. Time to divide the State, just like many Oregonians are trying to do, so that true American, Conservative, Patriotic voters can have representation and live abiding Christian values and God’s law.
There was a time when the Communists – er, I mean the Democrats – at least tried to hide the fact that they were cheating and stealing elections. Now, with 95+% of the media lying and running cover for them, they no longer even try to hide it.
to me California does not have elections they have vote then we will count enough false votes to have democrats elected. mail in votes after election day SHOULD NOT BE COUNTED
How many ballots are postmarked outside of California? I would think the postmarked location would be important info regarding potential election fraud. Just asking…
I don’t believe that any ballots that appear after the deadline should be considered, let alone counted. I also believe that voting should be for one day only, and mail in ballots should also have that deadline. If you can’t get your mail in ballot back by the deadline, it should not be counted. Otherwise they will be counting until the end of the year.
California is the most corrupt state in the history of the great USA and they seem to be against everything American. Only a liberal would believe that the voting in that state is fair and legal. They will keep stalling until the numbers turn out the way the liberals want them to be.
I believe we should just give California back to Mexico and help the Patriots still living there move to a state of their choice.
I think the fix is in. With so much opportunity to cheat it appears that the Democratic Party in California has come up with an election model that insures that they can always win.
Consider this. By the end of in-person voting, California knows three things. 1) Who voted, 2) who hasn’t voted, and 3) how many votes they need to manufacture over the next weeks so the Dems win. With that information, Democrats can easily create mail-in ballots using the names of all those who didn’t vote.
No surprise here, just terribly horrifying that they can do this and never blink an eye. Spencer Pratt won and the left cannot tolerate losing control. God help us and vote FOR the SAVE ACT. Get Congress’s heads out of their arses and do what We The People, Voted for!!!! We need more Spencer Pratts and Steve Hiltons!!!!!
California slowness in counting ballots makes them very suspicious.
As Stalin said, “How people vote is not important, what is important is who counts the votes,”
We all know CA is cheating when today, we heard today that there aren’t still 688,000 votes left to count! They always cheat which is why the state is in such disarray. Apparently, the radical liberals must have a very strong hold on the voting there. Praying that Hilton wins in the gubernatorial race. Perhaps then that state will become a beautiful place to live once more.
Newsome is doing what he always does…CHEATS! He cannot leave soon enough!! I think long and hard about where to vote, when to turn in my ballot at the polls and how to do it because of the voting fraud and manipulated outcomes! I know that there are many conservatives in this state, more than what seems to be judging by the voting outcomes. In the years to come, I hope and pray that voting will be an honest endeavor by American citizens in CA and that they can count on the outcome as being truthful. Somehow CA should have to prove how they came by the numbers they are reporting months after the fact. So Bogus!
Don’t understand how Bass could possibly win.
To say this election count undermines trust, is to say the least. Whatever happened to “election day”. This policy, which has been in place for decades, is the best way for existing candidates, to rig the count. I think this went on in many swing states in the 2020 Presidential election. Affidavits were signed of witnessed fraud, no one, to this day has been prosecuted for Perjury. Indeed, no one looked at the signed affidavits, neither the courts nor the state legislators.
Why bother to have elections if this policy remains in place, it is so obvious a way to rig. I think this is a case for our United States Supreme Court. Also, many have standing in this matter.
Was never an issue until now Thank God people are Waking up
The Democratic Party and their allies are trying to steal the election, why not they have stolen everything else! You can expect this come November through out the country, Democratic Party has the CCP assisting them! The CCP would love the Democratic Party to get elected, cause the CCP controls the Democratic Party!
what we see in ca. will be coming nation wide if we don,t create SAVE AMERICA ACT. this is a results dem. socialist control.
The MOB has been warehousing ballots for weeks or months and sells them upon request to the highest bidder, or upon their own wishes for the desired outcome. We know this because arrests have been made with the vehicles packed with ballots. this occurred in the County that candidate, Chad Bianco sheriffs. He knows!
Geez. It takes time to determine how many extra votes are needed to elect the right people. Be patient! Kalifornia will pick the right Socialist.
Nations larger than CA can count their votes in HOURS, not days! Of course, socialists ALWAYS FUBAR everything. How else to explain how the [perhaps] most beautiful state in the Union has become a cesspool!
It’s because of fraud and corruption! Democrats want at all cost to remain in Power! And, if that means: Rigging-the-Elections, so be it!!! This is why President Trump’s Voter ID Law must be Passed! Then strictly Enforced!
I can never understand that in the 21st Century election ballots and results are not know the night of or day after election day at the very latest. One way to assure this is to do away with mail in voting except for those are are physically disabled or ill. No ballot should be even considered if not turned in before the polls close or if mailed must be postmarked absolutely no later than election day!!! Let us start having able bodied American citizens get off their dead asses as our previous generations have done and vote in person. All this mail in bullshit is making elections soooo much easier to cheat no matter what anyone says.
And the corruption CONTINUES……
The state of Newsome has once again cheated. We all know it by the slow roll of the vote numbers and outcomes. Newsome considers himself as the Man in the High Castle calling the shots. He cannot leave soon enough! Enough damage has been done in the past 8 years to what was once a beautiful state. Very sad!
What does this mean that mail in ballots continue to trickle in ? Do you mean these have dates of election but are coming in by mail still or are they mail in that are still being counted at polling places?
This isJust another way to try to cheat for Dems
Absolute bullcrap! Voting is from 7am to 7pm on voting day and no vote counts after that time otherwise it’s cheating!
What’s happening in Kalifornia is cheating in clear view during daylight hours. Anyone not offended is an outright enemy of the United States. The right of the individual to have a secure vote that can’t be stolen is a sacred part of our freedoms. Those infringing and benefiting by it need to be prosecuted. Problem is, who in Kalifornia is going to do the prosecuting?
Well, it’s what those blue states did in 2020 to get that idiot Biden in- and we all experienced what a disaster that was- Obama Biden Harris- wow, what they did to our country. Thank God for President Trump!
Newsom SCUM and his scum of the earth cronies have the corruption machine in high gear. There is no way that Newscum will allow any republicans to win in LA of the Governor. The corruption machine is in high gear to overwhelm the vote with dad folks , double and triple votes, Illegal Alien votes and the destruction GOP Votes. This is Commufornia and No Republicans are allowed. Better get out before they start arresting us.and putting us in Reeducation Camps.
The military should be brought in to oversee these corrupt blue state election processes.
Remember the Three Stooges routine: “One for you, one for me. Two for you, and one-two for me……”
Absentee ballots should be in by the end of the voting night which is 8:00pm. Excepting absentee ballots after the close of election night is not acceptable unless its a military person who serves overseas. Accepting ballots days after an election is riddled with fraud. If CA voters can’t get their ballots in before election day then it should fall on their own fault. USPS should make absentee ballots a priority to get to the correct place for officials to count them. Better yet, people should vote in person on election day!
In 1864 Abe Lincoln knew he had won reelection by 8am the next morning via telegraph in the middle of the 19th century. BUT in the 21st century the votes can’t be tabulated for weeks? BOVINE EXCREAMENT !
California Liberals are to stupid to know to count. It’s their Woke education.
I don’t understand? When that imbecile Newson was recalled his vote count was in by 9:30 pm . America getting upset and thinking the Republicans can right the ship with all the corruption it’s chuck full of nutjobs , your not gonna make a difference! Now I would say not a penny to these states but they don’t make penny’s anymore, so it’s got to be nickels to any of these states let the rich nutjobs save them or they will swirl down the drain !
The “Legal American Voter” has to Rise Up and Finally Do So tho g About It! Until then, california will simply continue being the model for Corrupt Politicians! End of Discussion!
I haven’t seen Republicans this mad since Trump fell asleep and didn’t wake up from his nap. It’s going to be hilarious wonderful ratings. Cope and seeth. No healthy person sleeps that much haha
California is a Communist Controlled Welfare State , with more of it”s population on Welfare than that are working .
*need, not “needs”. Sorry.
This is when the Feds needs to take over the election. It means the Republican candidate has the most legitimate votes, and the Democrats running the elections are “fixing” that.
imo
You have to give California vote counters a break. After all it takes quite a while to collect all of the ballots of permanent residents of cemeteries. Of course these folks always vote Democrat.
Why don’t they hire more people to count the ballots? Also, pay for the ballot counters should not be an hourly rate, they should pay them for each ballot counted.
america was great for many years and now magats have ruined america with their constant lies and extreme hate