House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) expressed concerns on Monday regarding the ongoing vote-counting process in California's mayoral race, stating that it 'stinks to high heaven.' This comment comes nearly a week after the primary election results were still not finalized. Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass has advanced to the November election, while Republican actor Spencer Pratt and progressive City Council member Nithya Raman are competing for the second-place position.
Johnson noted the slow pace of ballot counting in California, which allows election officials 30 days from Election Day to process certain ballots. He highlighted that other nations, such as India, can count votes within 24 to 48 hours. While he did not directly accuse the election of being rigged, he called for improvements to the voting process to eliminate any appearance of impropriety.
In the latest updates, Raman has taken a lead over Pratt, with a margin of just over 3,100 votes. As of Monday morning, 83% of ballots had been counted, with Raman holding 27.1% of the votes compared to Pratt's 26.7%.
