Newsom finally stumps up the cash to speed up Californias glacially slow elections

Gov.Gavin Newsom is putting millions behind an effort to tackle one of California’s biggest election headaches: the state’s notoriously slow vote count.As part of California’s newly approved $351.7 billion state budget, Newsom and Democratic lawmakers allocated $40 million to help counties process ballots more quickly before the November general election.Republican strategist Matt Klink argued the funding addresses the symptoms rather than the underlying cause.“California shouldn’t need a $40 million fix for a problem of its own making,” Klink told The California Post.

“If Sacramento wants faster election results, the governor and the legislature should examine and alter the laws that allow ballots to arrive after Election Day and require weeks of processing.Given a recent Supreme Court decision, that’s unlikely to occur.”The package includes $29 million for counties to hire additional election workers and upgrade ballot-processing equipment, while another $10 million will fund a statewide public awareness campaign urging voters to return their mail ballots before Election Day.

The budget also sets aside $750,000 to counter election misinformation.The funding comes after California again faced criticism over the pace of its vote counting during this month’s primary elections, when it took nearly a week to determine winners in several marquee contests.The Los Angeles mayoral race wasn’t settled for six days, while the governor’s primary took seven days to call.In 2024, some of the state’s closest congressional races weren’t decided for roughly three weeks.Despite the additional funding, Californians shouldn’t expect every closely contested race to be resolved on Election Night.California allows voting by mail, in person at vote centers, through secure drop boxes and by provisional ballot.

Election officials can process many mailed ballots before Election Day — verifying signatures and preparing envelopes for tabulation —...