Approaching Deadline: California Still Needs to Count Nearly 90,000 Ballots
Volunteers are quickly working to address ballots in a House race with extremely close margins.
Elections officials throughout California are diligently counting nearly 90,000 ballots and resolving issues with close to 100,000 others by Dec. 3, the deadline for counties to report presidential election results to Secretary of State Shirley Weber’s office.
Delays in California’s vote counting process are due to the reliance on mail-in ballots, which require more time to verify compared to in-person votes, according to elections officials. Every registered voter in California received a ballot that could be returned by mail, official drop boxes, or polling places.
Officials verify mail-in ballots by comparing voter signatures on ballots with those on registration files.
If voters forget to sign ballots or discrepancies are found, registrars try to reach out to voters through mail, email, and phone to fix the issue and “cure” the votes.
“All of this requires staff time and extends the final certification process,” mentioned Jesse Salinas, Yolo County assessor, clerk-recorder, and registrar of voters, in a statement on Nov. 22.
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Vote canvassing processes are time-intensive but are essential to guaranteeing accurate vote counting, as mentioned by numerous county registrars.
“The elections office is dedicated to completing our final certified results accurately and promptly, while ensuring all legal obligations are fulfilled and maintaining the integrity and transparency of the election process in every election,” stated Salinas.
A county that is close to finalizing its work mentioned that officials are putting in a lot of effort to complete the process.
“Until we resolve all mismatched or missing signatures, we cannot certify our election,” mentioned Katrina Bartolomie, Mendocino County registrar, to The Epoch Times. “We are fully engrossed in the election process.”
The county has resolved and cured all but 99 ballots out of almost 40,000 cast as of Nov. 29.
All statewide results must be submitted to the secretary of state by Dec. 6, and Weber will officially certify the results a week later.
With the looming certification deadline, candidates in certain races are separated by margins of fewer than 1,000 votes.
Current Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.) is behind Democratic opponent Adam Gray by about 190 votes, with the lead swinging back and forth since Election Day.
Volunteers from both parties are aiding election officials in fixing issues with ballot signatures to support their respective candidates.
Christine Pelosi, daughter of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), is leading a volunteer effort for Democrats to contact affected voters in California’s agricultural 13th House District.
She informed supporters that she is concentrating on the closest House race in the nation.
“I’m heading to the Central Valley to cure ballots in California 13,” Pelosi said in a video attached to her post.
Earlier, volunteers were aiding in the state’s 45th House District, where Democrat Derek Tran surpassed Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) as votes tallied toward the end of the canvass period were in his favor.
Republicans are also contributing to curing votes.
“We are unwavering in our efforts to safeguard the vote and ensure that every legal vote is counted,” stated Jessica Millan Patterson, California GOP chairwoman, in a video shared on social media on Nov. 22.
Thousands of volunteers and lawyers are working in contested districts to help cure ballots and communicate with voters whose votes are in question, she said.
“We understand that these fixes can make the difference between victory and defeat,” Patterson added.
