Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) acknowledged on Tuesday that California must improve the speed of its vote-counting process, breaking with Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), who has defended the state’s process of counting ballots from Republicans and repeated attacks from President Donald Trump. Khanna said he spoke with a “close friend” who was convinced that former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt was “robbed of an election” because votes were still being counted nearly a week after Election Day. Nithya Raman ultimately defeated Pratt in the open primary when his early 40,000-vote lead evaporated. Election Day was on June 2, but the race wasn’t called until June 8.
“We need to figure out in California how we can get the vote counted faster and results tabulated so it does not drag on,” Khanna said on X. “We should make the investments in operational improvements and resources in the wealthiest state in the nation. It is worth spending the resources to get the vast majority of the vote counted within 48 hours. Right now the system is eroding trust and spawning conspiracy theories.”
California’s vote-counting system allows votes to be counted as long as they are postmarked by Election Day and received up to seven days after, which Khanna said “maximizes participation.” This system has drawn scrutiny for some time, particularly because it results in vote-counting delays long past Election Day.
