As California election officials continue counting ballots from last week’s primary election, some advocates say lawmakers should give these workers more funding when they approve another state budget this month.
The bulk of these ballots are vote by mail ballots that were returned to drop boxes or by mail on election day, which can create a backlog of work for election officials and contribute to California’s long vote count.
Kim Alexander with the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation says counties need more funding for their election officials to be able to count faster.
"The reality is that the longer it takes to determine election outcomes, the more voters question the reliability of those outcomes," said Alexander, "and so I think that we need to accept that and respond to that."
Alexander and other voting advocates are pushing for $91 million of one-time funding.
Lawmakers have until June 15th to pass a main budget and will continue voting on budget bills through the summer.