DeSantis Rips California's 'Corrosive' Election System: 'Count Until You Get the Result You Want?'
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday lambasted California’s process of taking weeks to count votes.
“I’m sure the massive, post-election vote dumps will boost leftist candidates. Taking days or weeks to count votes and announce the results is a joke,” DeSantis posted on X on Wednesday.
He noted that in his state, the work gets done without delays.
I’m sure the massive, post-election vote dumps will boost leftist candidates. Taking days or weeks to count votes and announce the results is a joke. pic.twitter.com/onEI0cIJAP
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) June 3, 2026
“Florida processes more than 10 million votes in a matter of hours. California takes days — or sometimes even weeks — to count the votes. It’s pathetic — and it’s corrosive to our civic culture,” he posted.
“Is it incompetence or is it intentional?” he mused in another post on X.
Florida processes more than 10 million votes in a matter of hours.
California takes days — or sometimes even weeks — to count the votes.
It’s pathetic — and it’s corrosive to our civic culture. https://t.co/21hoOFeY4B
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) June 4, 2026
On Wednesday, the prediction market Polymarket noted that bettors will need to be patient.
“California officials warn final LA mayoral election results could take weeks, with only 54% of votes counted,” it posted on X.
That drew a one-word post from DeSantis: “Absurd!”
Absurd! https://t.co/XTHSWhNbS0
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) June 4, 2026
DeSantis had noted that on Wednesday, Polymarket was dropping the odds that Republican Spencer Pratt would advance to the November general election.
“California keeps dumping votes. Odds are shifting because the vote dumps always seem to go one way. Count until you get the result you want?” he posted.
As of Thursday morning, in the primary for mayor of Los Angeles, incumbent Democrat Karen Bass led with 35 percent of the vote. Republican Spencer Pratt is second with 30 percent, while Democrat Nithya Raman is third with 23 percent, according to KABC-TV.
California’s long lag times to count votes were pilloried by pollster Nate Silver, who said that waiting weeks for an election result should not be tolerated.
“The fact that California elections often can’t be resolved for weeks is kind of insane and not common in other electoral systems around the world,” Silver wrote, later calling the incompetence an example of “learned helplessness.”
Silver wrote that it shouldn’t take “several weeks” to know who the victor is, adding that this kind of system “should be more stigmatized.”
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