Here's why election results in the second largest US city are so slow

Election results are inactive trickling successful for superior races crossed California, including successful Los Angeles, wherever incumbent Mayor Karen Bass is up against reality-star-turned challenger Spencer Pratt to pb the city.

But the days-long hold successful knowing who won these Tuesday races is simply a communal occurrence successful California - the astir populous US authorities that's location to astir 23 cardinal registered voters. Counting these votes - including the millions of mail-in ballots could instrumentality weeks.

That's owed to a meticulous vote-counting process, compounded by the wide usage of mail-in ballots, which are mailed to each registered elector successful California.

An estimated 80% of California votes are formed by message and those ballots request to beryllium sorted, validated and counted.

Mail-in ballots are valid arsenic agelong arsenic they are posted by predetermination time and get to region predetermination offices by 9 June, the time earlier they are certified by the state's predetermination authority.

On predetermination night, California Secretary of State Shirley N Weber confirmed the delayed results are "normal" and called connected each Californians "to beryllium patient", contempt US President Donald Trump's claims of "BIG cheating" successful the profoundly wide state.

Here's what's really going successful in California.

Election officials crossed the California's 58 counties person up to 30 days aft predetermination time to number ballots. Final results indispensable beryllium reported to the California Secretary of State by 3 July and the caput volition certify results connected 10 July 2026.

But Trump has claimed that Democrats are "trying to steal" elections successful the authorities owed to the hold successful finalised results.

Mail-in voting has agelong irked the president, who repeatedly claimed without impervious that the 2020 US predetermination against President Joe Biden was "stolen" from him. In April, helium signed an enforcement order to bounds the practise by creating lists of US citizens who are eligible to ballot successful each state. Experts and critics person said helium lacks the authorization to bash this.

The president has besides claimed that national prosecutors successful Los Angeles are investigating votes cast, but California Governor Gavin Newsom's bureau has said connected societal media that Trump is "lying astir California again".

A spokesperson for the US Attorney's Office successful Los Angeles declined to remark connected Trump's remarks erstwhile contacted by the BBC.

Trump doubled down connected Thursday, claiming again without impervious that Democrats successful California "are stealing" the predetermination and urged Congress to walk the Save America Act - authorities that would necessitate Americans to beryllium they are US citizens erstwhile they registry to vote.

In a aboriginal station connected X, Newsom's bureau reposted an explainer to combat misinformation, adding: "And yes, for the record: we privation the votes were counted faster, too."

What bash archetypal results successful the governor's contention show?

While aboriginal votes are counted up of time, those results cannot beryllium publically disclosed until aft polls adjacent connected predetermination day.

Initial results from Tuesday nighttime included aboriginal mail-in, aboriginal in-person and day-of ballots.

Those results bespeak that British-American erstwhile TV big Steve Hilton, a Republican vying for governor, has the lead. Trump took to societal media connected Wednesday to congratulate Hilton "on coming successful first" successful the crowded gubernatorial race.

But that pb could change, due to the fact that a small implicit fractional of the ballots person been counted truthful far.

According to the Associated Press, an estimated 56% of votes person been counted connected Thursday. Hilton holds 27.6% (1.42m) of the vote, portion his Democrat rivals - Biden furniture caput Xavier Becerra and billionaire clime activistic Tom Steyer - person 25.6% (1.32m) and 19.8% (1.02m) of the vote, respectively.

In California, the state's "jungle primary" strategy picks the 2 contenders with the astir votes to proceed to the wide predetermination careless of enactment affiliation.

Dozens of Democrat hopefuls jumped into the crowded tract to regenerate Newsom, who has reached his word limit.

What's happening successful the Los Angeles mayor's race?

In the metropolis of Los Angeles, incumbent Bass has advanced to the November runoff but became the city's archetypal sitting politician who failed to gain the 50% of votes needed to debar a runoff since 2005. As of Thursday, she had 35% of the vote.

She could look disconnected against The Hills world prima Pratt, who holds 29,9% of the vote, oregon chap Democrat, and Los Angeles metropolis assembly subordinate Nithya Raman, who is astatine 22.8%. The contention is inactive excessively adjacent to telephone who mightiness tally against Bass successful the November election.

Los Angeles County, which includes the metropolis of Los Angeles, is location to astir 6 cardinal registered voters - a fig that exceeds the voting colonisation successful 41 US states. It is the astir populous region successful the state and Los Angeles is the 2nd astir populous metropolis successful the US.

Vote-by-mail ballots postmarked connected oregon earlier predetermination time and received wrong 7 days aft the election, arsenic good arsenic immoderate provisional ballots cast, indispensable inactive beryllium counted, the California caput of authorities said.

Counting the ballots crossed the sprawling portion takes time, but delays besides stem from the onerous task of verifying elector signatures connected each mail-in ballot envelope lucifer those connected file.

If the signature doesn't lucifer oregon is missing, the elector is notified and has until 2 days earlier the predetermination is certified to hole the mistake.

County elections officials volition study the results for astir ballots by 15 June, astir a fortnight aft the 2 June election.

"California elections officials prioritise the close to ballot and predetermination information implicit rushing the ballot count. We person a process that by instrumentality ensures some voting rights and the integrity of elections, truthful I would telephone connected each Californians to beryllium patient," Weber said successful a connection connected predetermination night.