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California election limbo fueled by 4 pressure points dragging out vote count, expert says
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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
A ballot box sits outside Contra Costa County’s elections office in Martinez, Calif., on May 27, 2026. June 2 is the last day to vote in person or return a ballot before California’s statewide primary election. (Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images)
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.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office for additional comment.
investigations, california, voting, elections state and local, voter fraud concerns
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EXCLUSIVE: Oversight Project sues to block Maryland Democrats’ redistricting measure backed by Gov Moore
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EXCLUSIVE: A new lawsuit set to be filed in Maryland seeks to block a redistricting amendment backed by Democrat Gov. Wes Moore from appearing on the November ballot, arguing state officials advanced the measure after the state’s own legislative analysts concluded the statutory deadline for certifying ballot questions had already passed.
The complaint, filed Thursday night in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court by the conservative watchdog group Oversight Project and reviewed by Fox News Digital, argues HB 2100 could not lawfully reach voters because Maryland’s July 1 deadline for certifying statewide ballot questions expired more than a month before lawmakers convened a special session to approve the proposal.
The Oversight Project, which filed the lawsuit with Republican lawmakers, argues approval of the amendment could pave the way for an 8-0 Democratic congressional delegation.
SUPREME COURT DEALS BLOW TO VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS IN FIGHT OVER STATE COURT ELECTION MAP RULING
HB 2100 would ask voters to amend the Maryland Constitution so state constitutional standards governing compactness and boundaries would no longer apply to congressional districts.
The Oversight Project describes itself as working «to expose and root out corruption in government, among elected officials, and in our most influential organizations to ensure power resides with the American People.»
The complaint alleges Democratic sponsors characterized the amendment as merely «technical» in the Maryland House. (Getty, File)
Its filing points to a Department of Legislative Services fiscal note stating that «the new statutory deadline of July 1 for certification of ballot questions» had already passed. The fiscal note also states that election officials were required to publicly post the full text of a proposed constitutional amendment at least 90 days before Election Day.
According to the complaint, lawmakers then added the phrase «notwithstanding any other provision of law» to HB 2100 less than an hour before the joint committee hearing began. The plaintiffs argue the language was intended to override Maryland’s certification, notice and public comment requirements after those deadlines had already elapsed.
The complaint further alleges Democratic sponsors characterized the amendment as merely «technical» in the House, while Senate debate reflected that lawmakers understood the statutory timeline could no longer be met.
The filing cites remarks by Democratic state Sen. Cheryl Kagan during floor debate.
VIRGINIA DEMS ACCUSED OF ILLEGALLY ‘STEAMROLLING’ STATE LAW THAT COULD UPEND REDISTRICTING CRUSADE
A new lawsuit in Maryland seeks to block a redistricting amendment backed by Democrat Gov. Wes Moore. (Brian Witte/AP Photo, File)
«There is no time to comply with the plain language of the law with our new law because July 1st is in the rearview mirror,» Kagan said, according to the complaint. «There’s no time to have the Secretary of State draft language, to have it published, to have a comment period, to have it modified. It’s just not an option.»
Maryland GOP Delegate Matt Morgan, one of the plaintiffs, told Fox News Digital the disputed language was introduced at 11:08 a.m. for a noon committee hearing.
«They have the law. They’re supposed to follow it. They didn’t,» Morgan said. «And now we’re going to take it to court and see what the judges have to say about it.»
DEMS CIRCLE THE WAGONS BY BLAMING GOP FOR THEIR GERRYMANDERING RESPONSE AHEAD OF MIDTERMS: ‘VERY DESPERATE’
The complaint argues that HB 2100 could not lawfully reach voters because Maryland’s July 1 deadline for certifying statewide ballot questions expired more than a month before lawmakers convened a special session to approve the proposal. (Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images, File)
Morgan said Democratic leadership later described the amendment as «technical» on the House floor.
«The truth is that that was their way of trying to get around them missing all these statutory deadlines,» he said.
Republican Delegate Kathy Szeliga, another plaintiff, said legislators had only hours to review the revised language while the public had no opportunity to comment.
«The public got absolutely no time to look and weigh in on the amended language,» Szeliga told Fox News Digital. «So, it just reeks of a naked political, partisan power grab on the Democrats’ behalf.»
According to the complaint, the proposal is intended to overturn the practical effect of a 2022 state court ruling holding that those constitutional standards applied to congressional redistricting. Democrats hold seven of Maryland’s eight U.S. House seats.
REDISTRICTING WAR INTENSIFIES AS GOP SUFFERS SETBACKS IN TWO STATES
Democratic leadership described the amendment as «technical» on the state House floor. (Jonathan Newton/For The Washington Post via Getty Images, File)
Moore has publicly defended the amendment as a response to Republican-led redistricting efforts in other states, saying it would ensure «Marylanders — and no one else — have the final say over their representation.»
The lawsuit asks the court to bar state officials from certifying, printing, distributing, tabulating or canvassing votes on the amendment and requests expedited review because of the approaching election calendar.
Moore’s office, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office and the Maryland State Board of Elections did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
maryland, legislation, elections state and local, democratic party, midterm elections, congress, republicans elections
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Con la presencia de Milei y bajo una alerta terrorista, asume el nuevo presidente de Colombia
Con la presencia de Javier Milei entre los invitados especiales y bajo una alerta terrorista, el ultraderechista Abelardo de la Espriella asumirá este viernes la presidencia de Colombia, en un drástico viraje ideológico que pondrá punto final a cuatro años del primer gobierno de izquierda en la historia del país.
Unos 11.000 uniformados de la Policía, el Ejército y la Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana custodiarán la ceremonia que se llevará a cabo en Cali, la principal ciudad del sudoeste colombiano. Es la primera vez que la jura no se realiza en Bogotá, en una decisión que busca mostrar el inicio de un nuevo proceso de “descentralización” política.
El acto se desarrollará en la Arena USC, de la Universidad Santiago de Cali, que puede albergar a más de 2300 personas
De la Espriella, un polémico abogado mediático, de 48 años, ganó el balotaje del 21 de junio con un apretado margen de menos de un punto de ventaja sobre el candidato oficialista Iván Cepeda, heredero del presidente saliente, Gustavo Petro, quien no asistirá a la ceremonia porque considera fraudulento el proceso eleccionario. Solo 200.000 votos separaron a ambos candidatos entre los más de 25 millones contabilizados.
El nuevo mandatario asumirá un país aquejado por una nueva ola de violencia guerrillera y del crimen organizado y con el desafío latente de gobernar sin una mayoría en el Congreso. Además, afrontará un grave déficit fiscal, una profunda crisis del sistema de salud y una preocupante realidad climática y energética.
Los grandes desafíos del nuevo gobierno colombiano
El nuevo presidente afrontará un camino difícil. En el corto plazo tendrá ante sí cinco grandes frentes abiertos:
- Gobernabilidad. Este será un asunto clave para el nuevo gobierno. El izquierdista Pacto Histórico de Petro tiene la primera minoría en el Congreso, con 26 senadores y 43 diputados. El Centro Democrático (CD), una fuerza tradicional de la derecha colombiana, se sumará al nuevo gobierno y aportará 17 senadores y 30 diputados.
Por lo pronto, De la Espriella construyó un bloque de unidad en el Senado con el CD, Salvación Nacional, el Partido Conservador, la U y Cambio Radical. En total alcanzaría 49 votos, sobre un total de 103, pero apunta a crecer con disidentes del Partido Liberal.
En Diputados, el Centro Democrático ostenta la primera minoría, seguida por el Partido Liberal y el Pacto Histórico de Petro, con una dispersión de bancas entre partidos minoritarios que obligará al oficialismo a pactar grandes alianzas.
El presidente electo de Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella, habla durante una conferencia de prensa en Bogotá, Colombia, el jueves 30 de julio de 2026. (Foto AP/John Vizcaino)
- Inseguridad. La violencia guerrillera y del crimen organizado sufrió un importante aumento en los últimos años a pesar del esfuerzo de Petro para pacificar el país a través del diálogo con grupos ilegales. “Este es el principal desafío porque fue un fracaso el plan de ‘Paz Total’ que intentó llevar adelante el gobierno saliente”, dijo a TN la politóloga Bibiana Ortega, de la Universidad Javieriana de Bogotá.
La Fundación Ideas para la Paz, citada por EFE, reveló que el número de guerrilleros creció 23,5% solo en 2025. Se calcula que son 27.121 personas en armas y en redes de apoyo del Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) y las disidencias de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC).
Pero estos grupos no están solos. Las organizaciones criminales mantienen también un enorme peso en el país. El Clan del Golfo, el mayor grupo criminal, tiene al menos 9840 miembros.
De la Espriella prometió “mano dura” en la campaña. Quiere replicar las políticas radicales de Nayib Bukele, a quien imita en su estilo y en su discurso, a pesar de las innumerables denuncias de organismos de derechos humanos contra el presidente salvadoreño.
“A esas personas que están al margen de la ley, un mensaje categórico: disponen de un mes para entrar en razón (…) y organizar su sometimiento al Estado de derecho. En mi Gobierno no habrá ofertas generosas ni concesiones inaceptables como las que recibieron del régimen que está llegando a su fin”, afirmó el nuevo presidente. En campaña, prometió “bombardear” a los grupos armados.
Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella, Sumario
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Los precios del petróleo suben ante la preocupación por los planes de reapertura del estrecho de Ormuz
El precio del petróleo subió este viernes en medio de nuevas preocupaciones por la apertura del estrecho de Ormuz, luego de que Irán, en coordinación con Omán, propusiera prohibir el paso de buques considerados hostiles y aplicar fuertes multas a quienes violen las reglas propuestas. El régimen persa mantiene un cierre de facto de la vía marítima estratégica desde el 28 de febrero de 2026.
Los futuros del crudo Brent, de referencia europea, ascendieron 80 centavos, o 0,97%, hasta 83,29 dólares el barril, mientras que el West Texas Intermediate (WTI) de Estados Unidos subió 64 centavos, o 0,83%, hasta 77,93 dólares.
El jueves, los futuros del petróleo cerraron con un alza superior a los 3 dólares por barril después de que Irán analizara un proyecto de ley para prohibir el paso de buques estadounidenses e israelíes por el estrecho de Ormuz, canal donde transitaba cerca de una quinta parte del petróleo y gas natural licuado mundial antes del inicio de la guerra en Medio Oriente a fines de febrero.
Los precios habían caído a principios de semana ante la posibilidad de una solución al conflicto, pero el Brent superó los 80 dólares el jueves tras haber caído por debajo de ese umbral por primera vez desde el 13 de julio. Ambos referenciales se encaminan a cerrar la semana con una caída cercana al 8%.
Las tensiones entre Irán y Estados Unidos mantienen la atención del mercado energético tras la presentación de un borrador de plan iraní que propone restringir el tránsito por el estrecho de Ormuz.
Analistas coinciden en que las hostilidades entre ambos países persisten. Lin Ye, vicepresidente de mercados de materias primas y petróleo en Rystad Energy, explicó que la reciente reacción de los precios del petróleo está vinculada a la difusión del plan iraní. “El detonante inmediato es más específico, está reaccionando al plan publicado por Irán para las condiciones de tránsito en Ormuz, que prohibiría buques estadounidenses e israelíes y exigiría a otros países ‘hostiles’ pagar compensaciones antes del paso”, declaró Ye en diálogo con Reuters. El ejecutivo remarcó: “Eso no es el mercado descontando un mal acuerdo, es la confirmación de que lo que surja será un corredor gestionado o condicional, no una restauración del flujo normal”.
Un legislador iraní informó que una comisión parlamentaria evalúa un proyecto preliminar que prohíbe el tránsito de barcos estadounidenses, israelíes y de otras naciones consideradas hostiles por el Parlamento de Irán. Este proyecto prevé multas de hasta el 20% del valor de la carga para quienes violen estas restricciones, informó la agencia Fars.
Según un alto funcionario iraní, Irán aspira a cobrar tarifas de entre el 5% y el 7% del precio de las cargas a los buques que utilicen el estrecho. Por su parte, Omán discute fijar tarifas cercanas al 3%, mientras que Washington rechaza cualquier tipo de cobro. Cuatro fuentes del sector consultadas por Reuters advirtieron que el acuerdo propuesto enfrenta dificultades de implementación debido a las sanciones de Estados Unidos y a las cláusulas restrictivas de seguros sobre cualquier pago.
Vandana Hari, fundadora de la consultora Vanda Insights, afirmó que “las señales de esta semana sobre un posible acuerdo de tránsito Irán-Omán han causado oscilaciones en la percepción del mercado, pero hasta ahora dejan sin claridad qué condiciones se necesitan para concretar el entendimiento”.
En paralelo, los hutíes de Yemen informaron sobre ataques con misiles y drones contra “despliegues sauditas” en las regiones de Marib y Hadramout, según reportó Reuters. El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, declaró el jueves ante periodistas que considera que “la guerra terminará pronto”.
(Con información Reuters)
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