Support California Election Officials to Provide Faster Election Results

In recent elections, California has lagged behind other states in reporting results. Voters are sometimes frustrated by these delays, with days and sometimes weeks passing before races can be called. Research has also shown that delayed results can decrease public trust in an election.

Counting ballots in California takes time, in part due to the state’s excellent security and voter access procedures, like mail-in voting and ballot curing. These policies can be expensive to implement, and typically counties bear the full cost of elections without support from the state. When counties are resource-constrained, the speed of ballot processing can sometimes decrease. Governor Newsom has recently called on election officials to count ballots faster, and has committed to providing them with additional resources to do so.

The legislature needs to include these resources in their budget proposals in order for election officials to get the support they need. Call your representatives today and let them know they should support this funding in the budget.