California Scheming? Golden State’s Glacial Vote Count Bolsters Case for SAVE America Act

The polls closed in California on Tuesday at 8 p.m. local time. As of Saturday, nobody knows which two candidates will be competing in November for governor or Los Angeles mayor.

Indeed, mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day may stumble in for seven days until June 9—and still be counted. Thus, weeks could pass before these major political contests are settled. Counties have until July 3 to report their official results to the secretary of state.

It was not always this way. By 5 a.m. on March 6, 2013, 100% of precincts had totaled the previous day’s ballots. Nine hours after voting ended, Angelenos knew the final two mayoral rivals. (Gil Garcetti prevailed.) As of Friday, only 71% of ballots had been tabulated in Los Angeles and just 68% statewide.

Escargot can count votes more swiftly than Californians. Pundit Nate Silver calls this “failed state shit.” He observed this week via X: “The fact that California elections often can’t be resolved for weeks is kind of insane and not common in other electoral systems around the world.”

Silver and Eli McKown-Dawson elaborated, “Colombia held a presidential election on Sunday [May 30], and 99.98% of the result was in on Monday morning. Japan also counts most of its votes overnight. And in the UK (not exactly a poster child for state capacity), you can generally expect to have calls for all 650 parliamentary seats the morning after the election.”

California Counts

President Donald Trump is not amused.

“The Dumocrats are at it again!” Trump roared Thursday via Truth Social. “They are trying to STEAL THE GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA PRIMARY, AND THE MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES, PRIMARY, AWAY FROM TWO GREAT REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES. Here we go with the very late and massive numbers of MAIL IN BALLOTS.”

Trump continued: “There’s BIG cheating by the Dumocrats in California. Votes are all tied up. May not be in for weeks. Under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Why the vote counting DELAY???”

Trump echoes conservative complaints that GOP candidates in tight races too often triumph only on Election Night. Thanks to magic ballots, these Republicans wane, and the Democrats wax and then win. Magic ballots rarely favor Republicans.

Confidence Corrodes

Californians are experiencing either corruption or the appearance of corruption. Neither “I am being robbed” nor “I think I am being robbed” yields deep sleep. If Democrats are using this slovenly process to slouch toward a stuffed-ballot-box defeat of Steve Hilton, Spencer Pratt, or both, the perpetrators must be handcuffed at once.

But even if California’s count is purer than St. Francis of Assisi and merely looks crooked, millions of Americans will conclude that someone is cheating, and the entire system is rigged. Such suspicions corrode confidence in elections and the republic that they serve.

Winners easily respect their leaders and institutions, but even citizens who lose elections can accept opponents who succeed, fair and square.

But when voters feel cheated at the polls, then the whole structure starts to reek. “That’s not my mayor” and “That’s not my governor” become battle cries as America slides toward Civil War 2.0.

SAVE America Act

California’s pathetic performance offers yet another reason for the U.S. Senate to pry its collective butt out of the proverbial Barcalounger and pass the SAVE America Act already.

Catapulting mass mail-in ballots atop the ash heap of history and limiting them to the sick, the infirm, and those absent on Election Day (as the SAVE America Act requires) would go far toward ending this nightmare. And, to be accepted, all ballots must arrive before polls close (as the U.S. Supreme Court soon might decide.)

With these two reforms, California (and other states) could manage a much shorter stack of mail-in ballots. They could be counted every Election Day, with normal ballots. Winners and losers would emerge before the cocks crow at dawn.

To the Republican-led Senate: Scrap mass mail-in ballots. Pass the SAVE America Act. Make Election Night Great Again!