LOS ANGELES (AP) – Nearly two months after the election, a recount has settled the results of the Northern California U.S. House primary, breaking a mathematically impossible tie for second place, but also highlighting the long time it took to count the votes. It was a hit.
Most Californians vote by mail, and the quest for accuracy, thoroughness, and counting of every vote means that the nation’s most populous state can wait weeks or even longer for the count to be counted. It has gained a reputation for continuing. Voting for the state’s primary election ended on March 5th.
many Americans It is doubtful Regarding election integrity, the fact that it took two months to tally votes in the House election is “obviously problematic from an optical standpoint,” said Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voters Foundation, which aims to improve the voting process. Stated.
No one publicly disputes the accuracy of the count, but “it does raise some eyebrows when ballots are left out for a period of time,” said Tim Rosales, a Republican consultant not involved in the campaign.
“I’m not suggesting anything untoward is going on, but for the average voter, the time and length of the process makes them skeptical,” Rosales said.
Secretary of State Shirley Weber, who oversees elections, said in a statement: The fact that California and its counties conducted comprehensive elections and will take a little more time to ensure accuracy should give people more confidence in the election results. ”
There were 11 candidates on the ballot in the Democratic-heavy 16th District, south of San Francisco, to fill a seat vacated by a retired Democrat. Anna Eshoo. Under California rules, all candidates appear on the same primary ballot, but only the two who receive the most votes, regardless of party, can advance to the general election.
Vote tally in early April Democratic former San Jose Mayor Sam Licciardo has staked his claim to the top spot. The two remaining Democrats, state Rep. Evan Lowe and Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, each received 30,249 votes, resulting in a stalemate in the race for second place.
Following that count, a recount and dispute over the contested ballots concluded on Wednesday, giving Roe a five-vote advantage in the recount and second place in the November vote.
The contest will not affect control of the narrowly divided House of Representatives and will be decided in battleground states between Democrats and Republicans across the country.
of voters foundation Alexander said one of the problems behind the lengthy count is tight budgets for county election officials who do the arduous work. He said counties are limited in the number of people they can hire to screen ballots and the types of equipment they can use because there is no direct funding from the state to administer elections. And a close race means a long vote count.
In the past, most residents voted in person on Election Day, but the increase in mail-in voting also comes with complications. Mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day arrive within seven days and are valid. There is a heavy reliance on mail-in voting, in which every voter receives a ballot, but each ballot must be individually opened, verified, and processed, which also lengthens the counting period.
for example, almost a month In 2022, Republican John Duarte will be declared the winner of Central California’s 13th Congressional District. He defeated Democrat Adam Gray by 564 votes.
In 2018, the Republican Party raised a question About California’s lengthy vote-counting process after Democrats won a series of U.S. House seats in the state.
California also has a provision that requires voters to be contacted if their mail-in ballot is missing a signature or if the signature does not match official records, also causing delays. And even though mail-in voting begins a month before the election ends, last-minute voting means election officials may be overwhelmed with a flood of ballots.
Licciardo made several recommendations, including passing legislation requiring automatic recounts in close races that are funded by the government rather than candidates, outside donors or political action committees. Under state law, any voter can request a recount, but the cost is often borne by the individual and can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
