LOS ANGELES — Nearly two months after the election, a recount settled the outcome of a U.S. House of Representatives primary in Northern California, breaking a mathematically improbable tie for second place but also highlighting the long delay it took to count the votes .
Most California residents vote by mail, and in the pursuit of accuracy, thoroughness and counting every vote, the nation’s most populous state has developed a reputation for voting that can drag on for weeks — and sometimes longer. Voting in the state’s primary elections concluded on March 5.
At a time when many Americans are questioning the integrity of the election, a two-month window to count votes in a race for the House of Representatives is “absolutely a problem from an optical standpoint,” said Kim Alexander, chairman of the House of Representatives. nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, which strives to improve the voting process.
No one has publicly disputed the tabulation’s accuracy, but “when you have ballots that sit around for a while, it raises an eyebrow,” said Republican consultant Tim Rosales, who was not involved in the race.
“I don’t want to suggest that there’s anything unusual going on, but the average voter is becoming skeptical about the time and length of the process,” Rosales said.
Secretary of State Shirley Weber, who is overseeing the election, said in a statement: “I understand people want finality, but accuracy is of the utmost importance. The fact that California and its counties are taking a little longer to conduct inclusive elections and ensure accuracy should give people more confidence in the results.”
Eleven candidates were on the ballot in the heavily Democratic 16th District, south of San Francisco, a seat vacated by retiring Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo. Under California rules, all candidates appear on the same primary ballot, but only the two with the most votes advance to the general election, regardless of political party.
A vote count in early April showed that first place was claimed by former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, a Democrat. Two other Democrats were tied for second with 30,249 votes each: state Assembly member Evan Low and Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian.
That tally was followed by a recount and disputes over disputed ballots that concluded Wednesday, with Low taking a five-vote lead in the recount to claim the second spot on the November ballot.
The fight will not affect control of the closely divided House of Representatives, which will be decided in swing districts contested by Democrats and Republicans across the country.
The Voters Foundation’s Alexander said one of the problems behind lengthy counts is the tight budgets for county election officials who do the laborious work. She said there is no direct funding from the state to run elections, limiting counties in how many people can be hired to review ballots and what type of equipment is used. And close contests mean long vote counts.
There was a time when most residents voted in person on Election Day, but the rise of mail-in voting has brought its own complications. Mail-in ballots postmarked by the election date can be delivered within seven days and are still valid. The heavy reliance on mail-in ballots – each voter receives one – also results in a longer count because they all have to be opened, validated and processed separately.
In 2022, for example, it took almost a month for Republican John Duarte to be declared the winner in the 13th Congressional District in Central California. He defeated Democrat Adam Gray by 564 votes.
In 2018, Republicans raised questions about California’s lengthy vote-counting process after Democrats won a string of seats in the state’s U.S. House of Representatives.
California also has provisions requiring voters to be contacted if a ballot is not signed or if the signature does not match official records, again causing delays. And last-minute voting means election officials can be swamped with piles of ballots, even though mail-in voting begins a month before the election ends.
Liccardo made several recommendations, including passing a law that would require automatic recounts in close races funded by the government — and not by candidates, outside donors or political action committees. Under state law, any voter can request a recount, but most voters also bear the costs, which can sometimes run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.