Skip to content
Help support CapRadio’s local public service mission 
and enrich the lives in your community.
Support local nonprofit public media.
Donate Now

View thank you gift options

CapRadio

CapRadio

listen live donate
listen live donate
listen live
donate
  • News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
    News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
  • Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
    Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
  • Podcasts & Shows
  • Schedules
  • Events
  • Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
    Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About
  • Close Menu

California Counts

 

A collaboration between Capital Public Radio, KQED, KPCC and KPBS to cover the 2016 elections in California.

Series and Project Archive

 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
  • State Government
  •  

Why California Takes So Darn Long To Count Its Votes

  •  Ben Adler 
Monday, November 21, 2016 | Sacramento, CA
Listen
/
Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or Flash plugin.
Ben Adler / Capital Public Radio

Sacramento County election workers "remake" a damaged vote-by-mail ballot Monday afternoon. At left, the damaged ballot: partially crumpled and torn, and stamped "VOID." At right, the new ballot: a duplicate with votes marked in blue highlighter.

Ben Adler / Capital Public Radio

Two weeks after Election Day, two California propositions and numerous local races remain too close to call. That’s because counties estimate there are still more than two million unprocessed ballots.

So why does it take California so darn long to count the votes?

Well, for one thing, blame coffee.

“Coffee stains look just like an oval mark,” says Sacramento County Assistant Registrar of Voters Alice Jarboe. “So we have to remove all those coffee stains.“

Yes, it seems at least some Californians like to fill out their vote-by-mail ballots over breakfast.

And it gets worse: jam and jelly.

“We do find those on the ballot,“ Jarboe says. “Those gum up our vote counting machines, so we will remake those ballots.”

And remaking a ballot isn’t quick. Two election workers pair up to copy the votes from the damaged ballot onto an unmarked duplicate.

”One person will call, the other person will mark,” Jarboe says. ”And then they’ll double-check their work to make sure that the calling and the marking compares.”

“65 yes, 66 yes, 67 no,” a nearby election worker calls out as she and a colleague compare a ballot's votes on three of California's statewide propositions.

After they check their work, a quality control team will check again. And then, the damaged ballot gets a big blue “VOID” stamp.

Other times, Jarboe says, there's a slightly quicker fix involving white-out tape: “We will take that white-out tape and white over the problem ovals – the voter crossed out the oval, and said ‘No not this one, this one’ – we’ll cross out the one they didn’t want; we’ll white that out; and then a star stamp next to it. The star stamp is everybody’s indication that we touched that ballot and we corrected it in some way.”

It's likely that 14 million people will have voted in California once all the ballots are processed – and Clinton won here by a nearly two-to-one margin. As voting by mail has surged, so too has the time it takes counties to count ballots.

1121BA CACOUNTS photo2

Election workers sort through unprocessed vote-by-mail ballots at the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters office Monday afternoon. Ben Adler / Capital Public Radio


Plus, there are provisional ballots – which take even longer to process, because it’s often hard to verify a voter’s eligibility. California provisional ballot laws are much more permissive than in other states.

“We would prefer that you show up at your own polling place and that you be registered,“ Jarboe says. “But we’re not going to tell you to go away, that you can’t vote. We’ll go ahead and let you vote a ballot and put it in a provisional envelope, and then we true it up here.”

“These expansions (of voting rights) end up slowing down the vote count process,” says Paul Mitchell, one of California’s top voting data analysts. “But to trade off, we’re gonna get our votes counted quicker and disenfranchise people on the front end, I don’t think is the right trade off.”

California counties have two more weeks to certify their final ballot counts. Some other large states like Florida and Virginia have already done so.

Mitchell says California’s slow work is skewing Americans’ perceptions of the election results.

“The presidential race was a much larger popular vote win for Hillary Clinton than was seen on Election Day or even the couple days after the election,“ he says. “And that’s only going to expand.”

In fact, Mitchell estimates Clinton could end up winning nationally by 2.5 million votes – the largest margin ever for an Electoral College loser.


Follow us for more stories like this

CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you.  As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.

Donate Today  

    More about Election 2016

  • 2016 Election Coverage: Nov. 8 General Election

    CapRadio's coverage of the 2016 elections.

 Election 2016

Ben Adler

Director of Programming and Audience Development

Director of Programming and Audience Development Ben Adler first became a public radio listener in the car on his way to preschool — though not necessarily by choice.  Read Full Bio 

Sign up for ReCap and never miss the top stories

Delivered to your inbox every Friday.

 

Check out a sample ReCap newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

Thank you for signing up for the ReCap newsletter! We'll send you an email each Friday with the top stories from CapRadio.

Browse all newsletters

More California Counts Stories

Damian Dovarganes , Ringo H.W. Chiu / AP

US Senate Race Shaping Up As A Harris-Sanchez Match

April 5, 2016

Can A Small-Town Latina Mayor Push Central Valley Millennials To The Polls?

April 20, 2016

California Primary Election Results

June 7, 2016

View All California Counts Stories  

Most Viewed

Sacramento guaranteed income program opens applications for second round of participants

California could be the first state in the country to ban some much debated food additives

Wildfire victims left ‘in the dark’ after U.S. Forest Service briefs Congress about the Caldor Fire

10 new California laws that go into effect in 2023

Rain, snow and wind are returning to Northern California. In Sacramento, impacts expected to be milder than recent storms

We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

Most Viewed

Sacramento guaranteed income program opens applications for second round of participants

California could be the first state in the country to ban some much debated food additives

Wildfire victims left ‘in the dark’ after U.S. Forest Service briefs Congress about the Caldor Fire

10 new California laws that go into effect in 2023

Rain, snow and wind are returning to Northern California. In Sacramento, impacts expected to be milder than recent storms

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    •  
      (916) 278-8900
    •  
      (877) 480-5900
    •  Contact / Feedback
    •  Submit a Tip / Story Idea
  • About

    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Stations & Coverage Map
    • Careers & Internships
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
    • Press
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile Apps
    • Smart Speakers
    • Podcasts & Shows
    • On-Air Schedules
    • Daily Playlist
    • Signal Status
  • Connect

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen Live

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2023, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.