California’s vote counting speed is improving election after election

California is the most populous state in the Union, and every election season, we see dozens of articles about the state’s vote counting process and why it takes so long to call races there. Given the number of elections in the state, we expect that some will be close in the 2026 midterms. For that reason, it could be a focus of the Trump administration’s interference efforts. California has already become a target of interference efforts, including lawsuits based on extreme claims about non-citizen voters with little evidence behind them. But as Election Day nears, we can expect narratives to return to an oft-cited claim: that California counts ballots too slowly. Here’s what you need to know about vote counting in California, and how it’s changed in recent years.

Is California actually slow to count ballots?

Yes and no. When most people think about election results, they think about when a given race is called by the media. The timing of that call is primarily a function of two things: how many of the ballots in the race have been counted, and how close the race in question is. 

Of those two things, the only one that election officials can control is the speed of counting ballots. According to data from Sina Shaikh and Charles Stewart III, California was among the top ten states in terms of the percentage of ballots reported immediately after polls closed in 2024. By later benchmarks such as a week after Election Day, the state had fallen to the bottom of the list in terms of percentage of ballots reported. As Miles Parks recently reported for NPR, California wasn’t alone there either — Maryland reached 95% of ballots counted on the same day as California, and Alaska reached that threshold two days later. So while California may not be a complete outlier, there is clearly work to do. 

At the same time, there’s reason to be encouraged. California is speeding up its ballot counting. The chart below compares a primary to recent general elections, so it isn’t apples-to-apples, but the trend is clear. We’ll come back to what’s driving that progress and what comes next, but first, it’s worth understanding why calling races in California takes as long as it does.

So why are California’s races so often the last to be called?

Many of us remember recent election cycles when control of the House of Representatives has come down to a few seats in California, and races weren’t called for over a week after Election Day. There are several reasons why that is the case:

In sum, the frequent spotlight on California’s ballot counting is partly because of its status as the largest state and because it’s home to many close races, and partly because of policy choices that emphasize broad voter access and comprehensive ballot verification. 

What is California doing about it? 

The good news is that California is making progress on speeding up ballot counting while protecting voter access and election security. As we saw in the chart above, this is already visible in the data. 

California isn’t stopping with that progress, however. The state allocated $40 million to “safeguard” and “speed up” ballot counting, in an investment Protect Democracy pushed for alongside the California Voter Foundation. This effort includes designating some funds specifically to voter outreach, hoping to shrink the proportion of ballots delivered in envelopes on Election Day that are time-consuming to count. 

We also partnered with UC San Diego’s Center for Transparent and Trusted Elections and San Joaquin County Registrar Olivia Hale on a randomized experiment ahead of the June 2 primary, sending 34,346 voters two “Don’t Delay, Vote Today!” postcards. The results were statistically significant: Recipients returned ballots 0.4 days earlier on average and were two points more likely to meet the recommended deadline for election-night counting. This despite the statewide context of many voters returning mail ballots at the last minute due to an unsettled primary for governor.  

California has made significant progress on the legislative front as well. The June primary was the first time that election officials in California faced a new 13 day deadline to count all ballots, with specific exceptions. Two bills we co-sponsored with the California Voter Foundation, both of which were recently signed into law, aim to build on this progress: 

• SB 1420, authored by State Senator Laura Richardson, directs the Secretary of State to provide implementation guidance and voter education for “Sign, Scan, and Go” voting — bringing a completed mail ballot to a polling place, signing in as an in-person voter, and casting it on the spot. This voting method has shaved days off of ballot processing in some counties, and can build voter confidence by allowing voters to be sure their ballot won’t be rejected. 
• AB 2604 from Assemblymember Marc Berman, focuses on extremely close races and gives every county access to an “electronic signature curing” tool that lets voters whose ballots face issues in the signature review process submit an updated signature from their smartphone rather than returning a slower mailed document. It will be implemented for elections following the 2026 general election.

Through these efforts, California is proving that speed of counting and ease of access do not have to be in conflict. 

Counting could be faster, but it’s evidence of a thorough effort  

Every election cycle, California’s slow vote counting process is used to support claims of fraud. There is simply no evidence to support these claims. California elections take time to finalize because of the factors described above, as well as security measures the state has in place to keep elections free and fair like individually comparing voter signatures on millions of mail ballots. While California vote counting could be faster, those who point to its slowness as evidence of malfeasance is not basing their claims in any evidence. 

So what comes next?

Work remains for California to continue building on its ballot counting progress. Election administration needs to be an ongoing budget priority for the state so that counties can depend on the state to support ongoing and recurring costs in addition to one-offs. This year’s $40 million was real progress, but fixing that funding gap for good is arguably the single highest-leverage action California could take before 2028.

There is also the question of timelines. Mail ballots postmarked by Election Day can arrive and count up to seven days later, and voters have up to 22 days to fix a signature problem before their ballot is rejected. Alongside partners in the state, we are studying whether either window could be shortened without hurting voters, since it’s an open question how much of that time is actually being used versus just adding to the count.

But the most important next step of all lies not with the state, but with the voters. Every California voter can do their part to help ensure races can be called as quickly as possible:

• Use an official ballot dropbox! Putting your ballot in a dropbox gets it directly to election officials, instead of it having to go through the mail. You should still aim to vote as early as you can, ideally by the Friday before Election Day.
• Vote in person! California offers a range of in-person voting options, and you can check out your county elections office website for details. One option that’s available statewide for the first time this year: at least six hours of early voting on the Saturday before Election Day at your county elections office. In 2026, that’s Halloween! Make sure to cast your ballot before heading out to trick or treat!
• If you vote by mail, vote early! As soon as you’ve made up your mind, fill out your ballot and send it back to election officials in your county. Now that we are less than one week to Election Day, you should use an official drop box or turn in your ballot at a polling location rather than the mail if at all possible.