California Seeks Fixes After Slow June Primary Ballot Count

Overview

• Counties reported that more than 2.5 million ballots received through Election Day remained uncounted after the June primary, creating the multi-day backlog that drew national criticism.
• Election offices and the California Voter Foundation say extra resources would speed counts and have asked for roughly $91.1 million while the Legislature has only set aside $5 million for outreach so far.
• Senate Bill 1420 would let counties use a 'sign, scan and go' system that moves signature checks to voting sites so ballots enter processing already verified.
• Placer County’s November 2024 pilot of sign, scan and go saved about 3.5 days of backend processing but officials in large counties warn the method could produce long lines at vote centers and trade off one bottleneck for another.
• Counting delays have prompted lawsuits and a federal inquiry and could be affected by separate national actions, including a likely U.S. Supreme Court decision on postmarked late ballots and a pending USPS rule on who receives mail ballots.