While Election Day is on Nov. 3, at least some of California's midterm election results may not be projected until days or even weeks later.
Not only is there a plethora of ballots to count because California is the most populous state, with 23 million registered voters, but it also relies on a large number of mail-in ballots, with some not arriving until a week after voting ends.
According to the California secretary of state, "vote-by-mail ballots postmarked on or before Election Day and received within seven days after the election, as well as any provisional ballots cast, must still be counted."
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court upheld a Mississippi law allowing tabulation of late-arriving mail-in ballots so long as they were postmarked by Election Day. The decision was a loss for the Republican Party, which brought the case, and the Trump administration, which has pushed to override state election rules nationwide by imposing strict federal limits on voting by mail.
The Supreme Court last month also rejected the Trump administration's attempt to limit mail-in voting for now, keeping in place a lower court decision blocking the U.S. Postal Service from implementing new restrictions.
In addition to late-arriving mail ballots, the California secretary of state told ABC News that there is an arduous process of counting mail ballots and validating voters' signatures, as each envelope signature must match the signatures on file. County election officials have up to 30 days after the election to count ballots.
More than 89% of Californians that voted in the June 2 primary election did so by mail, according to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber. On July 10, Weber announced that the primary results were certified.
ABC News projected the two candidates advancing to the state's gubernatorial general election about one week after the primary election: Democrat Xavier Becerra was projected to advance on June 5, and Republican Steve Hilton was projected to advance on June 9.
California's long ballot-counting process often opens floodgates for criticism, with President Donald Trump frequently claiming without evidence that elections in the state are "rigged."
"In the end, they're not going to let you win it. They just won't let you win it because it's a rigged state," Trump said during a Newsmax interview earlier in October.
In his claims of election fraud, Trump has repeatedly referenced Republican Spencer Pratt's loss in the Los Angeles mayoral primary. While Pratt was initially in second place on primary night, he was eventually edged out by Democrat Nithya Raman once ballots were fully counted -- which can happen given the state's vote-counting process.
"Spencer Pratt was doing great. And at the end of the election, Election Day, his opponent was crying. Oh, she's lost so badly. She was crying. Then all of a sudden, like a week and a half later, you hear that she's surging. Nobody ever heard of her. You know, people that nobody ever heard of don't surge. The only time they surge is when they cheat," Trump claimed in early October.
The University of Florida's Election Lab has found that so far, 50% of mail ballots that have been accepted by the state of California are from registered Democrats and 29% are from registered Republicans, as of Oct. 25. The remaining 21% of ballots are from those with no party affiliation or registered with a minor party.
An October ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll found that among likely California voters who said they would probably or certainly vote -- or who already had -- 65% said they would vote by mail. Just 11% of California voters said they would vote in person at a polling place on Election Day.
The president has also railed against mail-in ballots for years, despite himself voting by mail twice during Florida elections this year. A White House spokesperson said that Trump has supported "commonsense exceptions" to allow Americans to use mail-in ballots, including for "illness, disability, military, or travel," but that he opposes universal voting by mail due to it being "highly susceptible to fraud."
An analysis from the Brookings Institution from November 2025 found that voter fraud is rare in voting by mail.
As the president blitzes the country ahead of the midterms, he has continued to sow doubt in mail-in voting while simultaneously encouraging Republicans to vote any way they can. Speaking to Newsmax earlier this month, Trump claimed without evidence that Democrats are sent multiple ballots and that Republicans sometimes do not receive a ballot at all.
"They send out millions and millions of ballots. Democrats get, in some cases seven, in some cases one, but in some cases they get much more than one. Republicans oftentimes don't get any, they have to call in for their ballot," Trump claimed.
Ahead of the general election, officials and state leaders have emphasized the security of California elections and mail ballots.
"Voting in California is secure, reliable, and part of California's tradition of encouraging participation in our democracy," Weber, the secretary of state, said earlier this month.
"Voting is safe, vote-by-mail is accessible to any and all who need it. And I encourage every Californian to make their voice heard this November," California Gov. Gavin Newsom also said in October.
California is not the only state where election results take an extended amount of time. Alaska, for instance, accepts some ballots up to 15 days after the election and certification cannot be done before then.
The Alaska Division of Elections says that the "process is intentionally slow and methodical so that accuracy is obtained."
Pennsylvania also prevents counties from opening ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day, meaning early votes cannot be counted upon receipt.
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