The 2020 presidential election presented a stark contrast in the speed at which states reported their results. While Florida, the third-most populous state, declared its results within hours of the polls closing, California, the most populous state, remained in a counting process for nearly a month. This discrepancy is not a new phenomenon. California consistently ranks among the slowest to report its election results, while Florida is typically among the first to finalize its vote count.
The explanation lies in the distinct election systems adopted by each state. The Constitution provides broad guidelines for electing a national government, leaving the specific details to the states. These choices, made by state lawmakers and election officials, influence various aspects of the election process, including voter participation, vote tabulation speed, security, and public confidence.
California’s Emphasis on Accessibility and Turnout:
California’s election system prioritizes accessibility and voter participation. This emphasis translates into a more extended process for finalizing vote counts. The state has embraced an all-mail voting system, allowing registered voters to receive their ballots at home and submit them by Election Day or even within several days afterward. This system, while designed to maximize voter participation, inevitably slows down the vote counting process.
The shift to all-mail voting, implemented gradually over the past decade, requires additional verification steps for each mail-in ballot. Ballots must be individually opened, validated, and processed, a more time-consuming process compared to in-person voting, where ballots are scanned at polling locations.
California’s commitment to accessible voting also extends to the postmark deadline for mail ballots. This allows ballots to be counted if they arrive after Election Day, as long as the Postal Service received them by Election Day. This policy ensures that voters who cast their ballots properly but encounter postal delays are not disenfranchised. While this policy aims to prevent disenfranchisement, it contributes to the delayed finalization of vote counts, as California must wait until the postmark deadline to count all valid ballots.
Florida’s Focus on Efficiency and Speed:
In contrast, Florida’s election system prioritizes efficiency and speed. The state’s response to the contentious 2000 presidential election, where the Supreme Court intervened in a recount dispute, led to significant reforms. These reforms aimed to standardize election systems and ensure voters’ confidence in the process.
Florida’s key change was the implementation of optical ballot scanners in every precinct, eliminating the potential for human error in counting ballots. These scanners read and aggregate results from paper ballots, instantly identifying and flagging any errors. Furthermore, Florida has strict deadlines for absentee ballots, requiring them to arrive by 7 p.m. on Election Day. This deadline eliminates the potential for a protracted count due to late-arriving ballots.
Florida’s election officials can begin processing ballots, verifying their validity, and running them through machines before polls close. While they cannot finalize the count until after polls close, this pre-processing accelerates the tabulation process significantly compared to states that do not allow pre-election ballot processing.
The contrast between California and Florida exemplifies the trade-offs between voter accessibility and speed in election administration. California’s commitment to increasing voter turnout comes at the expense of delayed vote counts, while Florida prioritizes efficiency and speed, ensuring a rapid and accurate tabulation of votes.
In conclusion, the differences in election systems and priorities in California and Florida result in starkly different timeframes for finalizing election results. California’s all-mail voting system, postmark deadline, and focus on voter participation contribute to a longer count, while Florida’s focus on efficiency and standardized ballot processing systems lead to a rapid and accurate tabulation of votes.