Days after California's primary election, voters remained in a familiar position — waiting to learn which candidates will advance to the general election in high-profile races for governor and Los Angeles mayor. The state routinely takes days or even weeks to fully tally results from its elections.
The extended timeline is built into California law. Ballots are mailed to all eligible voters — approximately 23 million people — and the state allows them to be returned if postmarked by Election Day and arrive at election offices within seven days. Only after polls close can local election workers begin verifying late-arriving mail ballots and tabulating results.
What the Right Is Saying
Trump has repeatedly criticized California's ballot counting process during and after elections. Following Tuesday's primary, he posted on his social media platform: "The Dumocrats are at it again! They are trying to STEAL THE GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA PRIMARY, AND THE MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES, PRIMARY, AWAY FROM TWO GREAT REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES." He suggested Democrats were cheating so his preferred candidates — Republican Steve Hilton in the governor's race and Spencer Pratt in the mayoral race — would be excluded from the top-two general election slots.
The president told reporters at the White House: "You see what's happening in California, they're rigging the election," and announced that his Department of Justice was investigating the count. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles declined to comment on whether an investigation was underway.
Former Republican election official Stephen Richer, who served in Maricopa County, Arizona, offered a dissenting Republican voice on social media platform X: "We might not like how California administers its elections (and I don't). But that doesn't make it fraud."
What the Left Is Saying
Democratic leaders pushed back strongly against Trump's allegations. Gov. Gavin Newsom's press office posted a video explaining that California prioritizes accuracy and accessibility over speed, stating: "For the record: we wish the votes were counted faster, too."
State Assemblymember Marc Berman, a Democrat who authored legislation to accelerate ballot counting signed by Newsom last year, called Trump's comments false. "While Trump is laser focused on lying about our elections and undermining voters' faith in our democracy, so that Republicans can then try to pass policies like Voter ID laws that make it harder for people to vote, our priority is to make sure that every validly cast ballot is counted," Berman said in a statement.
The 2024 legislation Berman wrote requires counties to complete vote counts within 13 days, down from the previous 30-day window. Counties must inform the Secretary of State's Office if they need an extension for any delay.
What the Numbers Show
California has approximately 23 million eligible registered voters who receive ballots by mail for every election. State law permits counting of ballots postmarked by Election Day if they arrive within seven days after the election.
The signature verification process, which requires election officials to contact voters whose ballot signatures don't match records and allow them to verify identity in person, adds additional processing time.
Despite being an overwhelmingly Democratic state, California has featured some of the nation's closest congressional elections — sometimes decided by just a few hundred votes. In 2024, one House race in the state wasn't called until December.
The Republican National Committee has filed lawsuits challenging mail ballot counting rules in other states, and the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on related issues this month.
The Bottom Line
Trump's allegations mark another episode in his sustained criticism of California's election administration, though no evidence of widespread fraud has been verified by courts or election officials in prior instances. State Democrats argue their process ensures every valid vote counts, while Republicans contend the extended timeline breeds confusion and enables conspiracy theories about election manipulation.
The pattern of later ballots skewing more Democratic — because Republicans tend to vote early or in person while Democrats more often use mail ballots counted last — has repeatedly sparked allegations of rigging as margins shift during tabulation. Election experts say this is a feature of California's system, not evidence of misconduct. Whether DOJ takes any action on Trump's announced investigation remains unclear.
What to watch: Any formal response from the Justice Department, final vote counts determining which candidates advance to November's general election in governor, mayoral, and congressional races.