Many Ballots Remain Uncounted in California. They Are Likely to Lean Democratic.
In California, Election Day often stretches into Election Week or even Election Month because of the time it takes to count the state’s high volume of mail ballots. That process, combined with the fact that many Democrats waited until the last minute to return their ballots this year, could lead to a long wait for a call for many races in the state’s nonpartisan primaries.
Typically, more than 80 percent of ballots in California are cast by mail. Ballots that had been returned well ahead of Election Day were processed as they were received, and counties posted those votes shortly after polls closed on Tuesday night. But ballots received close to or on Election Day — as well as those postmarked by Election Day and received within seven days — can take up to 30 days to be counted.
Those later ballots, referred to as the “late mail” vote, often determine the outcome of races. And this year’s primaries are further complicated by a marked climb in the share of ballots returned by registered Democrats in the lead-up to Election Day.
Four weeks ago, about 40 percent of the ballots cast by mail came from registered Democrats. In the week leading up to Election Day, the Democratic share of returned ballots was over 50 percent, meaning that the mail ballots counted in the days and weeks after Election Day could be significantly more Democratic than those reported so far.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/03/us/elections/california-election-results-mail-ballots.html