{"id":2610508,"date":"2026-06-04T08:19:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T12:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/californias-latest-election-mess-demands-supreme-court-cleanup\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T08:24:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T12:24:06","slug":"californias-latest-election-mess-demands-supreme-court-cleanup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/californias-latest-election-mess-demands-supreme-court-cleanup\/","title":{"rendered":"California&#8217;s Latest Election Mess Demands Supreme Cleanup"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcalifornias-latest-election-mess-demands-supreme-court-cleanup%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2610508&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>California is lagging in final results for this week\u2019s Republican and Democratic gubernatorial primary: officials have counted just over half of votes,and the process could stretch into days or even weeks. The piece argues that California\u2019s mail-in system-especially its seven-day grace period for counting ballots postmarked by Election Day, along <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >wiht slow county reporting-<\/a>keeps election outcomes from being known promptly and has previously forced long waits nationwide (including a month-long delay in 2024 House power projections).<\/p>\n<p>The article points to a looming U.S. Supreme Court decision in *Watson v. Republican National Committee*, expected any day, which is framed as potentially limiting or ending state laws that allow ballots to be counted after Election Day. Advocates quoted in the piece describe the issue as a \u201ccommon sense\u201d reading of federal law requiring an election to occur on a single day (the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November), while noting other states allow longer post-election arrivals. The discussion also references related litigation (like *Bost v. Illinois*) and a separate challenge involving North Dakota\u2019s extended counting period.<\/p>\n<p>Attention then turns to concerns that delays in the Court\u2019s timetable may reflect political maneuvering, and to criticism from conservatives that extended counting increases opportunities for voter fraud or manipulation. It mentions that Rep.Bryan Steil has proposed legislation (the \u201cMEGA Act\u201d) aimed at election-integrity reforms, including ending extended post-election vote acceptance, and argues California currently violates a clear \u201cfinish line\u201d by accepting ballots up to a week after Election Day.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>As of the close of the business day Wednesday, California election officials had counted a little over half of the votes cast in Tuesday\u2019s primary election for governor. It could take days, if not weeks, until the election results are final. <\/p>\n<p>A full day after the polls closed, the election was \u201ctoo early to call,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2026-primary-elections\/california-governor-results\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to<\/a> NBC News. Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host endorsed by President Donald Trump, led <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/former-top-biden-official-ripped-over-scandal-plagued-past-fiery-debate-more-fraud\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Xavier Becerra,<\/a> the Biden administration\u2019s bumbling Health and Human Services secretary, by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2026-primary-elections\/california-governor-results\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2 percentage points <\/a>\u2014 27.6 percent to 25.6 percent. Billionaire climate change cult leader Tom Steyer was in third with 19.8 percent of the vote. <\/p>\n<p>The top two vote-getters move on to November\u2019s general election. <\/p>\n<p>When will we know the final tally? Who knows? As The Federalist\u2019s Hayden Daniel quipped, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/anti-cartel-candidate-the-tiger-channels-trump-bukele-colombia-election-shocker\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Colombia,<\/a> a mountainous country infested with drug lords and guerrillas, is counting its votes more efficiently than the state of California.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>California is Exhibit A in the argument to Make Election Day Election Day Again.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to the Golden State\u2019s muddled universal mail-in voting and generous grace period \u2014 seven days \u2014 for ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted, the electoral waiting game has become a frustrating way of life. Not just for California voters, but for the entire representative democracy. In 2024, California\u2019s extended Election Day forced the country to wait more than a month to learn the majority-minority power balance in the U.S. House of Representatives. <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">California&#8217;s results delay is not JUST about postmark deadlines, a lot of their counties also slow roll post election day reporting. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/L3VWXvFtvi\">https:\/\/t.co\/L3VWXvFtvi<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 The AZ \u2013 abc15 \u2013 Data Guru (@Garrett_Archer) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Garrett_Archer\/status\/2062208551817478475?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 3, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The slow count didn\u2019t instill a lot of faith in California election integrity then, and confidence levels certainly won\u2019t improve with the latest debacle. <\/p>\n<p>A looming U.S. Supreme Court ruling could end the seemingly endless Election Day of California and other blue and red states. <\/p>\n<h2>\u2018A Matter of Common Sense\u2019<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scotusblog.com\/cases\/watson-v-republican-national-committee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Watson v. Republican National Committee<\/em><\/a>  will decide whether federal election statutes preempt the California quagmire \u2014 laws allowing ballots to be counted long after Election Day. That decision is expected any day. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe issue in the case is, what does the statute, what does the law literally mean when it says \u2018Election Day,\u2019 that ballots have to be cast by Election Day?\u201d J. Christian Adams, president and general counsel of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, told me Wednesday in an interview on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iheart.com\/podcast\/426-the-vicki-mckenna-show-27246267\/now-playing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Vicki McKenna Show<\/em><\/a>. <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Tomorrow, the Supreme Court is issuing opinions. One of the highest profile cases left is Watson v. RNC \u2014 which asks whether states can count ballots that arrive *after* election day. Funniest time to issue it would be during the ~10 day post-Election counting. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NZ6NA6tuX9\">pic.twitter.com\/NZ6NA6tuX9<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Eric W. (@EWess92) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/EWess92\/status\/2062155074659393745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 3, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.sanity.io\/files\/pito4za5\/production\/8864f842f157c500d6218772667b983034170a71.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">law<\/a> seems pretty straightforward. Election Day is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.<\/p>\n<p><em>Watson v. RNC<\/em> originated in Mississippi, where in January 2024 the GOP, the Republican Party of Mississippi, and two individuals challenged state law. The Magnolia State is among more than a dozen states that allow mail ballots to be counted if they are postmarked on or before Election Day. Deadlines vary. In Mississippi, the grace period is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scotusblog.com\/2026\/03\/court-appears-ready-to-overturn-state-law-allowing-for-late-arriving-mail-in-ballots\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">five business days<\/a>. In California, the cutoff is seven days after the election. Illinois and Washington allow ballots to arrive 14 and 20 days, respectively, after the election, <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Watson_v._Republican_National_Committee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to<\/a> Ballotpedia. <\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, the Supreme Court found that candidates have standing to challenge the extended ballot count laws. That case, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/25pdf\/24-568_gfbh.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections<\/em><\/a><em>, <\/em>involves the Land of Lincoln\u2019s two-week grace period. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hope the court is going to decide election officials can\u2019t count ballots that come in after an election. That\u2019s just basically a matter of common sense,\u201d election integrity advocate Marshall Yates told The Federalist in a phone interview. Yates leads the <a href=\"https:\/\/itsyourgov.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Oversight Project\u2019s<\/a> new Redistricting and Election Protection for American Integrity and Representation (REPAIR) initiative, fighting against racially gerrymandered political districts. <\/p>\n<h2>\u2018A Finish Line\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>The Public Interest Legal Foundation challenged North Dakota\u2019s 13-day extended ballot counting period. Last year, the state enacted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kfyrtv.com\/2026\/05\/18\/what-know-about-north-dakotas-june-9-primary-new-absentee-deadline\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">legislation<\/a> requiring all mail-in ballots arrive by close of the polls on Election Day. Ballots received later will no longer be counted. PILF\u2019s argument, like in <em>Watson v. RNC, <\/em>is that federal law stipulates elections be held on a single day. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe law here is pretty clear. It says \u2018Election Day\u2019. It doesn\u2019t say \u2018days after,\u2019\u201d Adams said. \u201cIt creates a finish line on the first Tuesday in November.\u201d <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Election officials are scrambling to prepare for a Supreme Court ruling that could upend laws in 14 states that allow late-arriving mail-in ballots to be counted. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/QhvB0BoVbR\">https:\/\/t.co\/QhvB0BoVbR<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NBC News (@NBCNews) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NBCNews\/status\/2062353739671818685?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 4, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The Mississippi case does not touch the \u201cstarting gun,\u201d Adams added. Early voting \u2014 even the insanely long period of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/activists-say-ballot-harvesting-once-shunned-by-gop-now-key-to-winning-in-2024\/\" title=\"Activists claim ballot harvesting, once rejected by GOP, now vital for 2024 victory.\">pre-election day voting<\/a> in states like Virginia \u2014 has been decided by the court. If a state wants to launch early voting for the November election the day after Labor Day, nothing prevents it from doing so. <\/p>\n<p>Democrats hate the effort to check the excesses of extended ballot counts. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThroughout this Nation\u2019s history, the term \u2018election\u2019 has been universally understood to refer to the voters\u2019 act of choosing an officeholder \u2014 not to the later administrative acts of receiving or counting ballots,\u201d the Democratic National Committee wrote in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/24\/24-1260\/391265\/20260109122637479_24-1260%20tsac%20DNC.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">amicus brief<\/a> in <em>Watson<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>Not quite, Adams said. The <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/US\/great-clash-mail-voting-emerges-main-target-renewed\/story?id=76260022\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">explosion<\/a> of universal mail-in ballots automatically sent to voters didn\u2019t really get started until 2020, during the great Covid scare, \u201cwhen states started shoving the election into the mail and having the Post Office determining who is winning, which is always a dangerous thing to do,\u201d Adams said. <\/p>\n<h2>\u2018It Does Feel Like Politicking\u2019 <\/h2>\n<p>While the <em>Watson <\/em>ruling is expected any day, Yates worries the liberals on the high court will drag their feet in releasing it. Those concerns are understable. <\/p>\n<p>As The Federalist\u2019s editor-in-chief, Mollie Hemingway, uncovered in her New York Times best-selling <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Alito-Justice-Reshaped-Restored-Constitution\/dp\/1541607139\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">new book<\/a> on Justice Samuel Alito, the high court\u2019s three liberals long delayed the release of the <em>Dobbs v. Jackson<\/em> ruling reversing <em>Roe v. Wade<\/em>. They <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/18\/explosive-report-as-dobbs-majority-faced-death-threats-liberal-justices-slow-walked-release\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">refused to deliver<\/a> their long overdue dissent for months, stone-walling even after their ideological allies at Politico <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/05\/03\/the-only-reason-to-leak-that-scotus-opinion-is-to-bully-justices-into-submission\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">leaked a draft<\/a> of the majority opinion in early May 2022 and put the lives of their conservative colleagues in peril.  <\/p>\n<p>The liberal justices, it appears, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/11\/scotus-liberals-caught-slow-walking-another-ruling-to-help-dems\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stonewalled<\/a> another key election ruling, April\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/25pdf\/24-109_21o3.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Louisiana v. Callais<\/em><\/a>, which effectively put an end to Democrats\u2019 nakedly race-based gerrymandering.\u00a0Doing so, they hoped, would politically benefit Democrats in November\u2019s midterm elections. They were wrong. <\/p>\n<p>This week, it seems the liberals exposed doing the same in the Supreme Court\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/03\/scotus-swats-down-rogue-courts-block-on-alabamas-congressional-map-again\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">opinion<\/a> halting a lower court\u2019s injunction against an Alabama\u2019s halving of two majority-minority, or affirmative action, districts. In the dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor argues allowing Alabama to at least take half measures to follow <em>Callais <\/em>and excise a discriminatory, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-the-supreme-courts-landmark-elections-decision-is-a-game-changer-for-the-midterms-and-beyond\/\" title=\"Why The ...&#039;s Landmark ...s Decision Is a &#039;Game Changer&#039; for the Midterms and Beyond\">race-based congressional district<\/a>, would be disruptive to voters ahead of the state\u2019s general election. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey want to have their cake and eat it, too,\u201d Yates said, adding that it\u2019s concerning that the mail-in ballot decision is taking so long to come out as well. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt does feel like politicking,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p>California\u2019s drawn-out, mail-in ballot count has raised concerns about voter fraud and ballot manipulation. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., who chairs the House Administration Committee that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/noncitizen-id-can-be-used-to-vote-says-proposed-wi-guidance\/\" title=\"Noncitizen ID Can Be Used To Vote, Says Proposed WI Guidance\">oversees federal election law<\/a>, has been highly critical of California\u2019s controversial grace period. <\/p>\n<p>Steil earlier this year introduced the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/119th-congress\/house-bill\/7300\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">MEGA Act<\/a> (Make Elections Great Again). The legislation includes several election-integrity reforms, including ending the long voting post-season. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll ballots should be in by the close of polls, but that\u2019s not how it works in California. I saw the process firsthand at LA Central Count in 2024,\u201d he wrote on X Wednesday. \u201cThe state actually accepts ballots up to A WEEK after Election Day.\u201d <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>All ballots should be in by the close of polls, but that\u2019s not how it works in California. I saw the process firsthand at LA Central Count in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The state actually accepts ballots up to A WEEK after Election Day \ud83e\udd2f<\/p>\n<p>We should fix this. Pass the MEGA Act! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PmY3tdZTMA\">pic.twitter.com\/PmY3tdZTMA<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u2014 Bryan Steil (@RepBryanSteil) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepBryanSteil\/status\/2062256919343927569?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 3, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<hr>\n<p>      Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-knew-100-percent-he-was-fighting-for-the-little-guy-former-top-trump-economic-adviser\/\" title=\"Trump Knew \u2018100 Percent\u2019 He Was \u2018Fighting for the Little Guy\u2019: Former Top Trump Economic Adviser\">award-winning investigative reporter<\/a> and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As of Wednesday business close, California counted just over half of Tuesday\u2019s votes; final results may take days or weeks<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2610509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-04-at-1.27.31-AM-1024x582.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4045,32644,43031,32275,33790],"class_list":["post-2610508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-california","tag-election-integrity","tag-legal-reform","tag-supreme-court","tag-voter-rights"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-04-at-1.27.31-AM-1024x582.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2610508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2610508"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2610508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2610512,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2610508\/revisions\/2610512"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2610509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2610508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2610508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2610508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}