The Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman has moved ahead of reality television personality Spencer Pratt in the latest vote count for the city’s mayoral primary. However, election officials have not yet determined who will advance to a runoff against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass.

Vote Counting Process

The prolonged vote count has drawn criticism from Republicans and renewed debate over California’s election procedures. Los Angeles County is continuing to count ballots that were postmarked on or before Election Day and received within the state’s allowable window.

Under Los Angeles’ nonpartisan election system, candidates compete on a single primary ballot regardless of party affiliation. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers advance to a general election runoff.

California’s vote-counting process often extends well beyond Election Day because every active registered voter is mailed a ballot. Election workers must also verify signatures, process provisional ballots and count eligible mail ballots that arrive after polls close but were mailed on time.

The Republican National Committee has highlighted the extended timeline with an online tracker measuring the time since polls closed. Republican candidates and party officials have argued that the lengthy count undermines public confidence in elections.

Election administrators and voting experts, however, have said the delays are largely the result of California’s mail voting system and the extensive verification procedures required before ballots can be counted.

Original reporting: WOWO News/Talk (Fort Wayne) — read the source article.