Nearly 24 Hours After The Polls Closed, California Is Still Counting Votes

Almost 24 hours after the polls closed in California, the results of the gubernatorial primary and the Los Angeles mayor’s race remain unresolved.

With just 55% of the vote reported on Wednesday evening, Republican Steve Hilton still leads the field of more than 60 candidates with 27.6% support, ahead of Democrat Xavier Becerra, who had 25.5%. Both were solidly ahead of billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer, who was at 19.7%.

Despite Hilton’s lead, millions of ballots remain uncounted, making it too early to determine the final order of finish. Under California’s top-two primary system, candidates from the same party can advance to a runoff in November’s general election if they finish in the top two.

In the Los Angeles mayoral race, 62% of the vote has been counted. Incumbent Democrat Mayor Karen Bass leads with 35% support, while Republican Spencer Pratt has received 29.9%. Far-left Councilmember Nithya Raman trailed with 22.8%. The top two votegetters in the mayoral primary, regardless of party, secure a place in the November 3 runoff if neither receives more than 50% of the vote. If Bass fails to secure a majority, she will be the first incumbent L.A. mayor to advance to a runoff since 2005.

Bass would normally have a major advantage over other candidates, but discontent with her handling of the Palisades fire and the homeless crisis led Pratt to join the race, and he then resonated with many of the same sentiments felt by other Angelenos.

Delayed results are routine in California because of the state’s extensive vote-by-mail system, signature verification, and procedures for resolving ballot errors.

The final tally of California’s races could take as long as three weeks. Unlike many states that require mail ballots to arrive by Election Day, California accepts ballots that arrive up to 7 days later if postmarked on time. Then, those ballots have up to 7 days to reach a processing center. Counties must verify signatures, count provisional ballots, and allow voters to cure certain ballot defects before results are certified.

On Wednesday evening, CNN broadcast live shots from the Los Angeles County Registrar’s office, which handles 25% of the state’s votes. The large room appeared sparsely staffed at the time of the broadcast. A CNN reporter on the scene said they were on break.