California pushes to speed up vote counts with $40 million budget boost

California put about $40 million into its 2026 budget to speed up election results, with $29 million for county staffing, technology and equipment upgrades and purchases and $10 million for voter outreach and education. The package also set aside $750,000 to combat mis- and disinformation. Gov. Gavin Newsom told all 58 county elections officials that it was critical to “accurately count every lawfully cast ballot as quickly as possible,” arguing that delay leaves room for false claims to spread while results remain unofficial.

California sends a vote-by-mail ballot to every active registered voter, and ballots postmarked on or before Election Day can still be counted if they arrive within seven days. During the canvass, county workers must confirm each voter’s registration status, verify the signature on the return envelope and ensure the person did not vote elsewhere in the same election before the ballot is added to the tally.

Assembly Bill 5, signed in 2025 and effective Jan. 1, 2026, pushed counties to release vote counts for most ballots by the 13th day after Election Day, shortening the old 30-day reporting deadline. Counties generally have about a month to finish the official canvass, with final results for the June 2 primary due by July 3 and certification scheduled for July 10.

It took six days to determine the outcome of the Los Angeles mayoral primary and seven days to settle the governor’s race, and Los Angeles County certified its June 2 primary on June 26, the first day counties were permitted to do so. Close contests, late-arriving ballots and the time needed to cure signature problems can still stretch the count into weeks.