In Reply to: A guy from SIlver Bulletin on why California's counting sucks posted by mh on June 05, 2026 at 19:24:33
1. Is it "California", or is it "L.A. County"? The state doesn't conduct elections, counties do.
2. My guess is L.A. County is the most populous county in America, and more ballots to count than any other jurisdiction.
3. If recent history has taught us anything it's that the GOP will litigate anything whether there's good cause or not. In 2000 in Florida, the GOP didn't win the vote, they won the litigation. L.A. County doesn't want that, so they've had to devise a system that could stand up to any challenge. You do that by being meticulous. And they didn't buy an off-the-shelf system, they built their own.
4. You want it fast? Let's compare old way to new way. 30 years ago, we slipped punch cards into a machine and punched holes. Signature comparison occurred before you got your punch card. Completed cards went into the box. Cards got bundled and run at lightning speed through the tabulation. "Hanging chads" anyone? Now we fill out the ballot at home. We put it in an envelope. All the checking occurs at the central facility. Signatures matched. Envelopes opened. It goes page-by-page into the machine. It's inherently slower, but it's all more secure.
5. Let's remember that the GOP has raised unnecessary suspicions about computer tabulations. In some jurisdictions they're pushing for a completely hand count. How slow would THAT be? Something they rejected as an invitation to corruption in Florida 26 years ago.