Election deniers spread lies about California’s slow vote counting: ‘Textbook election fraud’

By Matt Cohen

Election workers stand outside the San Diego County Registrar of Voters office during California's primary election. Voters across California cast ballots in races ranging from local offices to statewide contests, including the closely watched gubernatorial primary that will help determine who advances in the race to succeed California Governor. As ballots continue to arrive and be verified throughout Election Day, election officials work to tabulate results while ensuring the accuracy and security of the voting process ahead of the November general election. (Photo by Michael Ho Wai Lee / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

It’s no surprise that California takes a long time to count votes, but the protracted tallying of ballots in Tuesday’s primary races is fueling conspiracy theories among election deniers.

“In California, 40%-50% of the vote is counted after election night,” conservative influencer Benny Johnson wrote on social media Tuesday. “How can voters have faith in the outcome of elections that they don’t know the results of for weeks. There’s so much opportunity for fraud.”

Under California’s jungle primary system, the top two vote-getters of any party advance to November’s general election. Because of the widespread use of mail-in voting in California — ballots postmarked by Election Day but received up to seven days later are counted — it can take days or weeks for close races to be called in the Golden State. By Wednesday morning, roughly 60% of the ballots had been counted in California’s heated gubernatorial election — and the vote tally was too close to call to see which two candidates would advance.

Before polls closed Tuesday, election analyst Nate Cohn criticized California’s prolonged process for counting votes.

“The fact that California elections often can’t be resolved for weeks is kind of insane and not common in other electoral systems around the world,” Cohn wrote. “The fact that it’s tolerated is bad too a textbook example of learned helplessness.”

Election deniers and anti-voting activists immediately jumped on Cohn’s comment to baselessly tick off familiar conspiracy theories to explain why California takes longer to count votes. 

“Its because its rigged,” wrote far-right podcaster Tim Pool.

“California has some of the most corrupt elections in the world: No Voter ID,” wrote Rogan O’Handley, a popular conservative commentator. “Sanctuary cities filled with millions of illegal aliens. Print-at-home ballots. Ballot mules going door to door. Weeks to count. Even lefties are starting to acknowledge how terrible they are.”

“Every single watchdog organization calls delayed reporting of results textbook election fraud,” Seth Keshel, a prominent anti-voting activist, said. “We’ve been shouting this for six years and it’s the most obvious thing in the history of civilized society.”

Despite what the far-right is saying, there’s been no evidence whatsoever of election fraud in California’s elections. And the delay in counting votes is consistent with the state’s past reporting timeline in previous elections, according to Stephen Richer, a former Republican Maricopa County Recorder and Cato Institute scholar.

“This is consistent with the state’s past reporting time period,” Richer said on social media. “And it will be the same in November. So don’t freak. Don’t claim fraud.”