ERIC DEGGANS, HOST:
In California, they're still counting ballots, yes, nearly a month after Election Day. The state usually takes longer than others to count, and that means we're still finding out who's won key congressional races. Laura Fitzgerald of CapRadio in Sacramento joins us now to talk about it. Good morning, Laura.
LAURA FITZGERALD, BYLINE: Good morning, Eric. Thanks for having me.
DEGGANS: So why does California take so much longer than other states to count ballots?
FITZGERALD: Well, the first big reason is the states approach to election administration is one that really tries to be inclusive and boost participation as much as possible. It gives people options when it comes to voting, and that means more work for election officials on the back end. California sent all voters mail ballots for the 2020 presidential election in the height of the pandemic, and since then, that's become permanent law.
Now almost 90% of voters cast their vote by mail ballots, and as long as they're postmarked on Election Day, there's a seven-day grace period for them to show up at county registrars. And then for those registrars, these ballots need to be processed and verified, making sure the signature on the ballot matches the one on file. And if it doesn't, voters in this position have until 26 days after the election to fix it.
DEGGANS: OK, so mail-in ballots - that's the main reason for this length of time. Is there anything else in the voting process that slows things down?
FITZGERALD: Yeah, so California also has same-day registration, so people who aren't registered can cast a provisional ballot on Election Day, and then it takes time for election officials to verify that voter is eligible. And all of these policies are really in place to reduce barriers to voting, but they can mean more work for election officials on the back end.
DEGGANS: So Laura, I'm curious, with all these delays, how do people in California feel about this voting system?
FITZGERALD: Well, there are a lot of voices outside of California that criticize this, but I think this is something that a lot of Californians have really grown accustomed to, especially in recent years since more and more people have been voting by mail. And candidates realize this, too. I spoke with one congressional candidate from the Central Valley on election night, and he really confirmed this about his own race. You know, they know their race isn't truly over until every vote, every ballot is counted.
DEGGANS: OK, well, as I mentioned, the vote counting continues there in California. What has yet to be called?
FITZGERALD: California has had a number of close congressional races. One was just called by the Associated Press on Wednesday. It's a U.S. House seat in Orange County, the 45th Congressional District. And that's where Democrat Derek Tran very narrowly beat the incumbent, Republican Michelle Steel. At the time of the AP call, Tran was ahead of Steele by just 600 votes out of more than 300,000. I talked with the registrar of voters in Orange County, Bob Page, before the race was called, and he told me he hadn't seen a race go back and forth like this one, where the leading candidate changed a few times as votes came in.
And then there's also a really close race in the Central Valley that hasn't been called yet. It's Congressional District 13. And that's where Democrat Adam Gray is trying to unseat Republican Congressman John Duarte. This one is looking like an even tighter margin than the Orange County race. It's effectively 50-50. And in both of these close contests, Democrats gained on Republican incumbents as the vote tallies went on, and the outcomes will determine just how much of margins Republicans hold over Democrats in the House.
DEGGANS: Well, that's CapRadio's Laura Fitzgerald. Thanks, Laura, for explaining this all to us.
FITZGERALD: Thanks, Eric, for having me.
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