California’s Slow Vote Counting Is a Gift to MAGA!

[trumptman]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/opinion/california-elections-vote-count-slow.html

Long before the existence of modern technology — before the internet or even television — Americans quickly learned the results of major elections. By the late 1800s, telegraphs made it possible for people to read results in the next day's newspapers. By the 1920s, radio networks reported outcomes on election night. Even in close races, with a notable exception of the Bush versus Gore contest of 2000, American voters usually knew within a day who had won the presidency, control of Congress and most other major offices. For more than a century, the rapid resolution of U.S. elections was the norm.

Yes we used to have election day, not election month.

California's slow counting of votes has its roots in a 2014 law. Until then, the state required mail-in ballots to arrive by Election Day. That year, California introduced a three-day grace period for any ballots postmarked by Election Day, in response to the closing of some U.S. Postal Service facilities. The state has since extended the period to seven days. The goal is to ensure that even a highly unusual mail delay does not disenfranchise anybody.

The changes have not accomplished that goal. Consider: In 2012, when ballots had to be received by Election Day, 0.5 percent of ballots were rejected because of lateness — and the share was an identical 0.5 percent in 2022, when the grace period was seven days. How could that be? As any college student (or journalist) knows, human beings tend to procrastinate until a deadline. The longer grace period led more voters to mail their ballots later

This hits a key point. When someone says that a change in how voting is done will improve outcomes, the numbers need to show that or else the changes, especially when they undermine confidence in election integrity, are for naught.

Colorado's results are impressive. In 2014, the first elections after it adopted its system, turnout jumped nearly three percentage points even as nationwide turnout fell more than four percentage points. In 2024, 73 percent of eligible Colorado residents voted — a higher share than in California (62 percent), Arizona, Nevada, New York or Washington. Colorado also counts ballots quickly, and the outcome of almost every race is clear on election night.

Some California officials have claimed that their state's large population makes it impossible for them to be so efficient, but that is as unpersuasive as their other excuses. Larger states have more tax dollars available for election administration. Florida, for example, counted 99 percent of its votes by the end of election night in 2024.

We shouldn't need half a month to count ballots and when given so many ways to return them, the grace period of a week AFTER election day doesn't improve the participation rate. It just makes people doubt the integrity of the process.

Here, then, is one more item for Mr. Newsom's agenda in his final year as governor: Bring California's elections out of the pretelegraph era and back into the 21st century.

California in 2026 shouldn't take longer to get us election results than if we were waiting for the Pony Express to arrive. You know how you get around needing a month to verify signatures, require photo ID to register to vote and then clean your voter rolls which is what California refuses to do.

They are the worst at elections while claiming the best intentions. Their process doesn't find more fraud, improve participation or get better results in any fashion. It does however generate lots of skepticism about the integrity of their results.

 

[JackOfNoTrades]

Then allow early mail-in voting at least three months ahead of election day. Allow those early mail-in votes to get counted and stored prior to election day. None of this BS about onsite votes needing to be counted before you can count the mail-in votes. You want to suggest that ballots have to be postmarked 48 hours prior to the start of voting on election day, I'm down with that.

The conspiracy theorists need to stop crying about fraud and "stolen" elections. Stop whining about voting machines that have been used in our elections for decades.

Do these things..and you might have your results by the end of election day...just like the old days.

 

[Dogmaphobe]

Democrats do not need time to count ballots.

They need it to assess how many they still need and then create them.

 

[SassyIrishLass]

Democrats do not need time to count ballots.

They need it to assess how many they still need and then create them.

And cover windows while they do

 

[JackOfNoTrades]

Case in point. Posts #3 and #4 are some of the reasons why you'll have a hard time getting elections decided in one day.
Too many whack-a-doodles butt hurt because their just and righteous white candidate that espouses their hate...erm...values lost.
So it must be fraud.