The real reason it's going to take a while to know who won in some midterm races

Some closely contested midterm House races may stay undecided for days after Election Day, and California is the likeliest place for that to happen. Stephen Richer, the Republican who formerly ran elections in Arizona's Maricopa County, says the delay breeds online conspiracy theories and heaps pressure on counting staff. What viewers see on election night, he notes, is projections by news organizations, not finished tallies. Those projections come quickly when a margin is wide and slowly when it is narrow, so places with tight races and sluggish counting wait longest. Richer contrasts Utah, where lopsided Republican margins allow fast calls, with Arizona and California, even though the states count at comparable speeds, according to NPR.

California combines many competitive districts, one of the slowest tallies in the country, and a long history as a target of President Trump. MIT's Charles Stewart says the state has a target on its back.

Kim Alexander of the California Voter Foundation blames a flood of mail ballots dropped off on Election Day, which require signature checks. In some counties, as many as 50% arrive that day.

Summarized by PolitiKool from NPR’s reporting. Read the full story at NPR →