BALERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) California’s primary election ballot count is drawing renewed criticism over how long it takes to finalize results, including from President Trump, who recently walked out of an interview after being pressed on the issue.
“Your elections are crooked and you’re crooked and Meet the Press is crooked and so is ABC and CBS and CNN. You’re one sided crooked networks. Let’s call it quits I’ve had enough,” Trump said.
Last Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom responded in a tweet, saying in part, “Trump is lying about California again.”
Republican candidate for Governor Steve Hilton has proposed what he says is a way to speed up the process.
California primary ballot count draws criticism as Trump attacks media (Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images)
“The plan that I’m announcing today, the Election Count Accelerator Plan, will give us final and full verified elections by 8:00 p.m. next Thursday, the 11th of June,” Hilton said.
The California Secretary of State’s office said counting ballots in a state as large as California takes time.
“With more than 23 million registered voters across 58 counties, ensuring a thorough and accurate count takes time. Votes go through numerous verification steps including signature verification, tabulation, audits, and reporting of results to the office of the Secretary of State,” the office said.
One observer said the delays can fuel skepticism.
“I will say from a perception standpoint it looks absolutely terrible especially for those in California that are most critical of the Democratic Party,” said Tal Eslick, a political consultant.
In Washington state, elections officials say they face similar scrutiny, particularly in tight races.
California primary ballot count draws criticism as Trump attacks media (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“But especially when races are close and margins are thin you have more people paying attention, more people asking questions and more people waiting for that very last vote to be counted,” said Halei Watkins, communications manager for the Kings County Election Office in Washington state.
Watkins said her county brings in additional staffing to process ballots faster.
“We hirer hundreds of temporary workers to come work with us to make sure that we can get through those ballots as quickly as possible,” she said.
“Democracy really is an all-hands-on deck thing.”
She said Washington has also faced questions about the pace of ballot counting in high-profile contests.
California primary ballot count draws criticism as Trump attacks media (Photo: KOMO News)
“We also had a close Seattle mayoral race and we’re getting some of the same questions about why it takes time to count ballots,” Watkins said.