Today is the last day to vote in California, and more than 7.6 million Californians have cast their ballots. But the counting will last for days, if not weeks, before news outlets declare all the winners or candidates concede.
[1]The delays and uncertainty [2] — which have grown since California started sending mail ballots to all voters — can sow doubts or even conspiracy theories. So state and local election officials [3] are trying to reassure voters [4] that their ballots are safe against cyber and other attacks and will be counted.
To bring more transparency and build public trust in the count, the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation is launching a new project [5] that, in seven swing congressional districts, will track how many ballots have been counted, how many ballots remain to be tallied and the margin between the two candidates. The updates will start today and end Dec. 5.
Kim Alexander, the foundation’s president, in a statement: “We have more competitive races and narrower margins in California today than we used to. In some contests, practically every single ballot must be counted before a winner can be determined.”
A reminder: While there are some mishaps, there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud [6] in California that would change the election results. Let’s dive into some other election news:
- Independent expenditures: Spending by independent expenditure committees funded by corporations and labor groups in California legislative races has steadily increased over the years, totaling nearly $100 million in 2024 alone [7], writes CalMatters data reporter Jeremia Kimelman [8]. Unlike direct contributions to candidates [9], there is no limit on how much these committees can spend, and the biggest spender is the ride-hailing service company Uber. Its political action committee has reported spending more than $7 million, including $443,000 toward Democrat Sade Elhawary [10], who is running for the competitive 57th Assembly District [11]. Learn more about these outside groups, including the other top spenders [7], in Jeremia’s story.
- Voter registration: The final numbers for the November election [12] show that Democrats make up 46% of California’s registered voters, Republicans account for 25% and no party preference for 22%. The total of 22.6 million registered voters is an all-time high, about 548,000 more than at the same point in 2020.
CalMatters.org [13] is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics. This article is republished with their permission.