California’s still-unsettled election results are the consequence of the state’s vote-by-mail system, according to election law expert Hans von Spakovsky, who said the process can keep ballots moving through verification and counting for days and even weeks after Election Day.

The Golden State is continuing to count ballots cast in its June 2 primary elections, a process that has extended beyond Election Day due to the state’s election laws, administrative procedures, and vote-counting policies, said von Spakovsky. The delay is not the result of an isolated incident or unexpected complication but stems from the structure of its electoral system before final results can be certified. 

«There are four reasons why California takes so long,» von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom, told Fox News Digital on Friday. «First of all, it’s almost entirely a mail election now.»

The Los Angeles mayoral race has captured the nation’s attention as Republican-aligned candidate Spencer Pratt awaits a tally determining if he or Democrat-aligned Nithya Raman will advance to the runoff election in November against incumbent Democrat Karen Bass. While former Health and Human Services secretary under the Biden administration, Xavier Becerra, Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Tom Steyer are still duking it out for the top two spots in the state’s jungle primary process ahead of the general election in November. 

LA TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER DEFENDS CALIFORNIA’S SLOW VOTING PROCESS AS ‘ELECTION INTEGRITY’ IN ACTION

Von Spakovsky identified what he said are the four causes for the delay in final tallies: mass mail voting, a seven-day post-Election Day ballot receipt window, a 22-day cure period for signature issues, and high volumes of provisional ballots that must be individually investigated.

Of the four causes of the delay, von Spakovsky said California’s mail-ballot rules cause the greatest concern because it dramatically slows the counting process. With the vast majority of ballots cast by mail, election officials must spend additional time verifying and processing those ballots before they can be counted, extending the timeline for final results.

«You can go vote in person, but like in the 2024 election, out of 16 million votes that were cast in the presidential election, 13 million were by mail. It takes much longer to process a mail-in ballot than a ballot that’s cast at a polling place,» he said.

Mail-in ballots allow voters to cast their ballots from home, avoid long lines and grew in popularity during the pandemic.

Ballot drops are still rolling in and once they do, counties then have additional time to process, verify and tabulate those ballots, with counting expected to continue through June 15.

CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS LAUNCH VOTER ID BALLOT PUSH, NEED 875K SIGNATURES BY DEADLINE

Vote by mail ballots are inspected at the Los Angeles County Ballot Processing Center in City of Industry, Calif., on Nov. 4, 2025. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Von Spakovsky pointed to postmarks on ballots as a key vulnerability in counting ballots.

«California law says, ‘We’ll count absentee ballots or mail-in ballots received up to seven days after Election Day if they’re postmarked by Election Day. But if the postmark’s missing, or it’s blurry, and we can’t read it, we will just go by whatever date the voter wrote inside the envelope,’» he said.

He said the state’s election rules are too permissive, pointing to policies such as not requiring voter ID, automatic voter registration, and lengthy post-election ballot processing periods, which he argued invite fraud or irregularities.

California is one of eight states, along with Washington, D.C., that automatically sends mail ballots in to all active registered voters in their universal vote-by-mail policy. 

President Donald Trump singled out the state’s election process this week, announcing that U.S. attorneys are looking into Los Angeles as the mayoral race remains pending.

«Without commenting on any specific investigation, my office has multiple election fraud investigations underway in coordination with @FBILosAngeles,» First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli wrote on X Thursday.  «We will follow the evidence wherever it leads and prosecute any violations of federal election law to the fullest extent.»

«The state has stonewalled every effort to verify that only eligible U.S. citizens are registered to vote. This case is now before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. My office will not look the other way. We will investigate and prosecute. Every legal vote deserves to be counted. Every illegal vote cancels one out,» he added.

A sign points to a vote center during the in-person early voting period for California’s Proposition 50 special election in West Hollywood, Calif., on Oct. 27, 2025. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Democrats have played down concern over the process to count the ballots, including Becerra saying those who bemoan the amount of time it takes are working «to undermine confidence in our elections.»

«We count every ballot. Thank you for your patience as we give democracy time to work,» Steyer wrote on X, citing Trump’s recent comments on the election. 

HILTON SAYS SPENCER PRATT CAMPAIGN REFLECTS GROWING REVOLT AGAINST CALIFORNIA’S ‘ONE-PARTY RULE’

Viral rumors have spread across social media since June 2, including claims that Pratt did not receive a single vote out of about 24,000 Los Angeles ballots that rolled in. 

«That’s a lie,» the California Attorney General’s Office told Fox News Digital, pointing to an X statement from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office debunking the claims as «disinformation» and a «lie.» 

FILE – Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a news conference in Oakland, Calif (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

The California governor sent a letter to state election officials in May calling on them to swiftly tabulate the upcoming elections, while focusing the letter on building and maintaining confidence in voting. 

«We must continue building confidence in our elections and ensure not only that every vote is counted, but that every vote is trusted. We must acknowledge that the longer the voting count takes, the more mis- and disinformation spreads. That means we must do all that we can to tabulate votes quickly and accurately. Time is of the essence in preventing election lies from taking hold,» he wrote. 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office for additional comment.

Fuerzas de Ucrania disparan un cohete desde un lanzacohetes múltiple BM-21 Grad hacia posiciones rusas en la dirección de Konstantinivka, en la región de Donetsk, Ucrania, este jueves. Foto: EFE

El costo de la guerra

«Apretarse el cinturón»

The GOP’s campaign message about a porous border resonated with voters in 2024. Voters routinely listed border security as the first or second most important issue to them in multiple polls ahead of the last election.

But how about ahead of the midterms?

Well, the border is sealed. The nation’s economic outlook is shaky as the war in Iran drags on. Gas prices are skyrocketing. And the hallmark of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda — The One Big Beautiful Bill — hasn’t materialized as a campaign juggernaut.

HEALTHCARE, ECONOMY AND THE ‘ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’: WELCOME TO THE MIDTERMS

So Republicans are seeking an issue they hope will connect with voters this fall.

They may have settled on fraud. And returned to a favorite old punching bag.

«I’m just going to give you a couple facts,» declared House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., at the GOP’s weekly press conference Wednesday morning. «The Biden Administration thought it was really important to spend $20 million for Sesame Street in the Middle East. They gave $8 million to make mice transgender.»

McClain continued about the Biden Administration providing «free housing and cars for illegals,» adding that «under Biden federal agencies handed out taxpayer dollars with weak oversight, loose control and almost no accountability.»

The government weaponization fund waylaid Congressional Republicans. They’re still trying to figure out what to shove into some sort of an economic package which they can pitch to the voters this fall. So for now, Republicans are focusing on fraud.

«Crazy says fraudsters should be protected. Crazy says the American people’s hard earned tax dollars should be given to criminals who are stealing their money. That’s crazy,» said McClain.

TRUMP SAYS ANTI-FRAUD EFFORTS ARE UNCOVERING BILLIONS IN WASTE, CLAIMS SAVINGS COULD BALANCE BUDGET

Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., leaves a House Republican Conference meeting at the Capitol Hill Club on Feb. 28, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

House Republicans planned debate on three bills this week to root out fraud in government programs. One bill would enhance oversight over childcare block grants. Another bill would help prevent people from bilking a program which provides emergency aid to society’s most needy. A third measure would target «ghost students» and crack down on fraud in student aid programs.

«The integrity of the programs matter because the taxpayers are not going to support them when they’re filled up with fraud. And it doesn’t matter if it’s child care or SNAP. The American citizens want the fraud eliminated from the system,» argued Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga.

Some Democrats found the anti-fraud message to be a little absurd.

«They’re not dealing with affordability. The President is saying he’s not concerned. Second, all of us are against fraud. I’ve yet to meet any politician who, when asked ‘Are you for fraud?’ says ‘Yes.» We’re all against it,» said Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt.

Another Democrat believes Republicans are focusing on the wrong things with fraud.

«What I would love to see is an investigation of fraud and corruption involving the Trump administration, and the Trump family. There’s not a day that goes by that there’s another story about Trump kids benefiting from some government contract,» said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.

On Wednesday, Republicans launched a hearing probing alleged Medicaid fraud in Ohio. This came after they unearthed various forms of fraud in Minnesota. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, claims that bad actors from the Somali community operate in both states.

I’M OHIO’S STATE AUDITOR — MEDICAID FRAUD IS NOT JUST A WASHINGTON PROBLEM

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, leaves a House Republican Conference meeting in the U.S. Capitol on June 4, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

«You’ve got the largest Somali population in the United States is in Minnesota. The second largest in the United States is in Ohio. Now, it’s not politically correct to say, but the reality is this fraud is coming predominantly from that community,» said Gill.

 At the hearing, Gill charged that Somalis «are moving from Ohio to Minnesota and back to Ohio.» He added that «it certainly seems to have some overlap.»

Gill tangled with Democrat Ohio State Sen. Nickie Antonio.

«Would you like to see more immigration from Somalia?» Gill asked the state lawmaker.

«As far as I’m processing your question, I have to say that I was almost brought to tears just now,» replied Antonio.

The two yelled over one another.

«Seventy percent of Somali immigrants are on welfare,» said Gill.

«The rate and the level of hateful rhetoric is based on false information is shocking to me,» responded Antonio.

«They’re defrauding your state at an astounding rate. Most Ohioans have a problem with that,» piled on Gill.

But Antonio pushed back, arguing that Republicans have controlled key positions of power in the Buckeye State for the past 15 years.

«[Republicans] hold the House, the Senate, the governor’s office and four statewide offices. If there is fraud in Medicaid, it has happened on the Republican majority’s watch. Perhaps it’s time to clean Ohio’s house,» rebutted Antonio.

MINNESOTA FRAUD HEARING SPARKS IMMIGRATION CLASH AS GOP LAWMAKER SPOTLIGHTS SOMALI WELFARE DATA

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, joined by House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, holds a news conference after a House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 13, 2026. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

A recent Fox poll found that more than 70 percent of those surveyed believe fraud is «very common» in government welfare programs. Since it’s an election year, Republicans hoped to dare Democrats to oppose their anti-fraud efforts when the bills hit the floor.

«For some of the Democrats who might vote against the fraud bills today, will you guys try to weaponize and boomerang those on members who vote no today?» yours truly asked House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.

«I think their own voters are going to be questioning that,» replied Scalise. «If Democrats vote no on that, it’s going to a hard vote to explain.»

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y, opposed the GOP’s anti-fraud efforts. But he gave Democrats from battleground districts a wide berth to decide what to do.

«Democrats are going to make a decision based on what’s the right thing to do for the district that they represent. And I trust every single Democrat, particularly those who are in swing districts, to do the right thing for the people that they’re privileged to represent,» said Jeffries.

On Wednesday afternoon, the House passed the childcare fraud bill. Only four Democrats voted yea.

GOP MUST RACE FOR NEW ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ TO SLASH COSTS BEFORE MIDTERMS, TOP HOUSE REPUBLICANS WARN

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries holds a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 19, 2026. (Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg)

But Republicans yanked the bill focused on fraud in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) bill. The reason? One senior House GOP leadership source said the bill lacked the votes and «needed a little work.» Another Republican source said attendance issues among Republicans might inhibit passage of the bill.

So what about the ghost student bills? Well, that measure was a legislative phantasm. The House didn’t conduct votes until Wednesday this week. The House then ghosted everyone on Friday, leaving the Capitol a day earlier than planned.

This trio of fraud measures are «messaging» bills in Congress. It’s doubtful that these plans will become law. But the leadership believes it’s important to «message» a subject like this to voters. And also point to votes where Democrats opposed such efforts.

But for all of the focus on fraud by House Republicans, they only managed to pass one of their three messaging bills this week.

That’s a .333 average. Baseball old-timers Paul Waner and Eddie Collins both boasted .333 batting averages for their career. They’re in the baseball Hall of Fame. But a .333 average isn’t Cooperstown-worthy on Capitol Hill.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

That said, Republicans will tee up several other anti-fraud measures next week. So there’s a reprieve. However, if the GOP doesn’t bat 1.000 on their fraud bills next week, some voters may designate them for assignment.

Or maybe ghost them at the polls.