New Bill Would Help California Counties Tally Votes Quicker

Republican California Assemblyman Juan Alanis introduced two bills for consideration in 2025 aimed at addressing election concerns among constituents, including the speed of counting and confusion about district boundaries, according to his office.

“This is not acceptable and it’s embarrassing for all Californians,” Alanis said in a statement emailed to The Epoch Times. “Entire nations of similar population and geographical size count their election results in hours. We can and must do better.”

According to the bill, processing includes verifying signatures, opening envelopes and removing ballots, duplicating any ballots that arrive damaged, preparing forms for tallying, adding write-in votes, and counting ballots by machine.

Vote processing centers are required to be open to the public, and officials must issue notifications 48 hours before processing and counting takes place, as per state law cited in the text of the bill.

Related Stories

11/16/2024

11/10/2024

Officials are prohibited from releasing any vote counts until polls close on Election Day.

If approved by the Legislature and signed into law, AB 16 will shorten the time needed to calculate results, Alanis said.

Mail-in-ballots are, in part, to blame for the delays, according to election officials, because they can arrive up to 10 days after the election, and processes for signature verification and ballot curing—where problems are resolved—take longer than in-person voting to ensure accuracy and secure elections.

California was the slowest state to report results this year and generally takes longer than most other states due to its policies and procedures, according to election officials.

“Unless we have all of our mis-matched signatures or no signatures cured, we cannot certify our election,” Katrina Bartolomie—Mendocino County assessor, clerk, recorder, and registrar of voters—told The Epoch Times by email.

Alanis said he recognizes the challenges faced by counties and is focused on finding a path forward that prioritizes speed and accuracy.

“I know our local elections officials take great care to protect the integrity of our elections,” he said. “However, we have to address the policies Sacramento has set for the state that are directly contributing to painfully slow counting and eroding the public’s trust.”

The Central Valley lawmaker vowed to identify solutions, saying the problem is self-inflicted by the Legislature.

“Doing it right takes precedence over doing it fast,” she said.

“The time taken to process ballots ensures voters’ rights and the integrity of the election. California is committed to protecting voting rights and has put several guardrails in place to protect those rights, including same day voter registration, provisional ballots, and the postmark-plus-seven days rule for vote-by-mail ballots.”

“It’s important that now, more than ever, we take steps to rebuild that trust and further the engagement of the public in our electoral process,” said Alanis. “The voters should have public access to all boundaries and geographical lines drawn for them related to their responsibility to vote.”

With more legislation introduced by both parties expected in the coming months, the assemblyman said he looks forward to working across the aisle to improve the state’s election procedures.

“I am open to dialog, discussion, and debate on these ideas,” Alanis said.

“I understand this is a sensitive issue to many. Getting things done will require real honest discussions and hard work. I am here to work with anyone to make our elections more efficient.”

Lawmakers will convene on Jan. 6, 2025, and in the following weeks, the rules committee will assign the election bills, and others introduced, to respective committees for discussion and debate.