California's Ballot Counting Process Faces Criticism

California's ballot counting process is receiving criticism from The New York Times editorial board, which stated that the state's slow counting is a failure of governance. The editorial board highlighted that California's primary, held on June 2, is still counting ballots, and noted that most democracies and large U.S. states count votes more quickly. The editorial pointed out that California's current system allows mail-in ballots to arrive up to seven days after Election Day if postmarked by that date, a change made in 2015. The board called for a national law to establish Election Day as the final day for accepting mail-in ballots and urged Congress to encourage states to count all ballots on Election Day. The editorial criticized California Democrats for defending the slow counting process, which they argue is not as accurate or accessible as other states that count votes more quickly. The state uses a thorough process for confirming voters' signatures, which contributes to the delays. The editorial concluded that California should improve its vote counting system to align with historical norms and practices in other democracies. Following the primary, it was confirmed that Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton will advance to the November gubernatorial election in California.