Why California’s Vote Count Will Take Days

There are only two more days to vote in California, and more than 7.6 million Californians have cast their ballots. But the counting will last for days, if not weeks, before news outlets declare all the winners or candidates concede. 

The delays and uncertainty — which have grown since California started sending mail ballots to all voters — can sow doubts or even conspiracy theories. So state and local election officials are trying to reassure voters that their ballots are safe against cyber and other attacks and they will be counted.

To bring more transparency and build public trust in the count, the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation is launching a new project that, in seven swing congressional districts, will track how many ballots have been counted, how many ballots remain to be tallied and the margin between the two candidates. The updates will start Tuesday and end Dec. 5.

Kim Alexander, the foundation’s president, said in a statement: “We have more competitive races and narrower margins in California today than we used to. In some contests, practically every single ballot must be counted before a winner can be determined.” 

A reminder: While there are some mishaps, there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in California that would change the election results.

One hotbed for election threats and disinformation is Shasta County. In June, county supervisors hired a prosecutor with no election administration experience to replace the county’s outgoing elections chief. CalMatters’ Sergio Olmos visited last week and reports that the presence of self-appointed election observers has led some elections workers to quit.

The observers spend their days at the county’s registrar of voters office on the lookout for any misdeeds related to voter fraud. Though voters are legally allowed to enter the office to observe the election process, staffers report that the observers have been following workers into their breakroom and attempting to open doors to see inside their offices.

Their intensity pushed Tanner Johnson to quit after working as an account clerk for more than a year. He says that 10 of the registrar’s 21 employees have also left.

 “They want to catch us in a lie, so they’ll try to trick you into saying something,” Johnson said. “A lot of times they’ll be secretly videotaping you or recording you. … I make $19.64 an hour. I’m not going to be a martyr for $19.60 an hour.”

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters.