Blake Jones, Marissa Guerra Echeverria, Lindsey Holden I Politico
SACRAMENTO, California — California Democrats exhaled on Monday after the Supreme Court allowed states to continue counting ballots postmarked by Election Day, declining to upend the slow vote-counting process in the nation’s most populous state.
The decision affected about 30 states, but it was especially closely watched in California, a heavily Democratic state where tabulating votes routinely takes weeks and ballots from the June 2 primary are still being counted. It comes as President Donald Trump has railed against the practice in California, arguing without evidence that it fuels election fraud.
“Despite ongoing attacks from the Trump Administration, we will not stop to ensure every eligible Californian can make their voice heard,” Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on social media. “Democracy is strongest when we all take part.”
State Democratic lawmakers who hold a supermajority in Sacramento have repeatedly defended the state’s system and fended off Republican pressure to enact change — even as the president has directed federal prosecutors to investigate election fraud claims in the California gubernatorial primary. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced an investigation into baseless allegations of voter fraud as ballot-counting was underway in Los Angeles earlier this month.
“I know our responsibility is to count every eligible ballot — not create new barriers for voters,” said Democratic Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, a former local election official. “Today, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of voter enfranchisement.”
