California/Elections—
By Suzanne Potter, producer, California News Service, a bureau of Public News Service.
Sometimes it takes days and even weeks to call an election in the Golden State, mostly because it takes time to count tens of millions of mail-in ballots.
The California Voter Foundation just published a list of ways to speed up the process. Mail-in ballots arriving on or after Election Day tend to slow down the count considerably, according to the foundation.
Kim Alexander, founder and president of the foundation, said voters can really help out by turning in ballots earlier or voting in person.
“We’re hoping voters will get into a new habit of turning in their ballot a little bit earlier,” Alexander advised. “We suggest the Saturday before the election, and if they can turn that ballot in in person, that’s even better.”
The foundation supports two new bills, currently in appropriations committees, to make best practices available in all counties. One bill would allow people to bring a mail-in ballot to the polls on Election Day and have it tabulated immediately. Another would make it easier to verify a signature through an online portal if the ballot is challenged because the signature on the envelope is not sufficiently like the one on a driver’s license.
Alexander added that in many recent elections, the delays in calling a winner have given oxygen to false claims of voter fraud.
“That further undermines voter confidence,” Alexander explained. “Having our races called more quickly by the media shortens the amount of time available for bad actors to share mis- and disinformation about our elections process.”
The foundation suggested shortening the time counties have to “cure” a challenged ballot from 22 days to 14.
