Eli McKown-Dawson (Silver Bulletin) writes (introduced by Nate Silver):
California has earned a reputation for dragging its feet when tallying ballots. In the 2024 cycle, California did not reach 70 percent of counted ballots until November 8, three days after Election Day. Across all fifty states, the typical share of votes tallied by that date surpassed 95 percent, leaving California at the bottom of the list. Rest assured, the Golden State eventually hit the 95 percent threshold—but it took a full ten days to get there.
By contrast, Florida now routinely processes about 99 percent of ballots within a few hours after polls close, in part because election officials can begin processing ballots before the polls shut. This remarkable speed is achieved even with a sizable share of mail votes—roughly 27 percent in 2024. Colombia held its presidential election on Sunday, and by Monday morning, 99.98 percent of results were reported. Japan also counts the majority of its votes overnight. And in the United Kingdom (not exactly a paragon of efficiency), you can generally expect calls on all 650 parliamentary seats the morning after the election….
Nor is the problem inherent in California’s choice to promote mail voting:
Mail-voting states such as Oregon, Washington, and Colorado count slowly relative to the US average, but they’re all faster than California… [And y]ou can make voting accessible without bending over backward to accommodate the tiny share of people affected by extending the mail-ballot receipt deadline [to one week after the election, as California has]….
And slowness doesn’t seem to be the price one must pay for accuracy:
There’s no evidence that voter fraud or other election administration issues are any less prevalent in California than in faster counting states. Based on the Elections Performance Index — a project that compares election administration quality across states — California ranked 41st in 2024. So the state isn’t slower and better: it’s slower and (often) worse….
If you want people to be confident in your electoral system, a good first step is to build one that works properly instead of adding yet another example to the “California is a failed state” pile.
