California: High-Tech State That Can’t Count Ballots
California's prolonged ballot counting after its recent primary election has left several critical races undecided, raising concerns about a system that contrasts sharply with faster counts in less-developed nations.
The state has still not finalized results from its recent primary, with critical races hanging in the balance while election officials slowly process remaining ballots. The delays stand in stark contrast to what even developing nations have achieved with far fewer resources.
Joel Pollak, Opinion editor of The California Post, drew on his experience as an election observer in South Africa two decades ago to illustrate the absurdity of California’s situation. In 2000, he witnessed election workers in a Cape Town township shantytown counting ballots by candlelight after polls closed. Despite having no electricity and counting by hand under the scrutiny of party observers, officials completed their work by midnight.
That same efficiency eludes California in 2025. Governor Gavin Newsom frequently touts California as the world’s fourth-largest economy and a leader in technological innovation, yet the state cannot deliver timely election results. The contrast is striking: impoverished communities without adequate education or electricity manage faster counts than one of the most technologically advanced regions on earth.
Key Races in Limbo
Several consequential contests remain undecided as California’s counting drags on. The sixth congressional district race has particular national significance, with only about 1,100 votes separating the second-place Republican from the third-place Democrat in the latest reported results.
The outcome will determine whether independent candidate Kevin Kiley, the incumbent, faces a Republican or Democrat in November. Kiley left his party after Newsom and Democrats redrew his district under Proposition 50. If Democrat Richard Pan, a former state senator, advances to the general election, he would likely defeat Kiley.
Control of the House of Representatives could hinge on this race, potentially affecting whether President Donald Trump faces another impeachment effort from Democrats.
A System Designed for Delay
California permits ballots to arrive up to seven days after Election Day provided they bear an Election Day postmark. The state also allows unlimited ballot collection by third parties through a practice known as ballot harvesting, which results in unexpected volumes of envelopes arriving at polling locations.
But these policies do not fully explain the dysfunction, as New York Post reports. The deeper issue is lack of political will to reform a system that serves incumbent interests. Democratic officeholders who dominate California politics benefit from the current arrangement, while public sector unions find mass paper mobilization more effective than motivating voters to appear in person.
South Africa’s 2000 municipal elections, by comparison, featured one day of in-person voting with photo identification requirements. Despite having only two contests on the ballot compared to California’s dozens, the hand-counting process still moved faster than California’s machine-assisted tabulation.
The state that leads in artificial intelligence and space exploration now finds itself trailing the developing world in the basic civic function of counting votes. Voters, candidates, and the nation wait as California’s electile dysfunction continues without remedy or accountability.
With information from New York Post
