Nate Silver Tees Off on California for Taking Weeks to Process Election Results: That’s ‘Failed State Sh*t’

(Photo Credit: Armchair Expert podcast on YouTube)

Journalist Nate Silver slammed California for having a seemingly never-ending election process that routinely takes weeks to count the votes — which he said makes The Golden State look like an incompetent third-world nation, not a modern democracy.

Silver called out California in a few X posts on Tuesday morning.

“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 said.

He continued by saying the fact that it takes California weeks to count votes is “failed state sh*t” and “should be much more stigmatized.”

He added it was a textbook example of “learned helplessness” that Californians even tolerate it, although some natives have griped about it for years.

By state law, counties have 30 days after elections to process valid ballots, including late-arriving mail ballots postmarked by Election Day.

California elections have often taken between 30 and 38 days to certify in recent years, and the 2024 election was not certified until 41 days later; the 2022 election took a similar length of time.

Silver’s posts were timely, given that the statewide primary is being held on Tuesday.

Californians will vote on the top two candidates who will advance in the gubernatorial race, with Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton — who received President Donald Trump’s endorsement — leading in most polls.

Becerra was mocked by several former Democratic colleagues for having no friends and few policy ideas, according to a Politico report on Monday.

Los Angeles will also be voting on the top two candidates who will advance in its mayoral race; Spencer Pratt (R) has jumped ahead of councilwoman Nithya Raman and is expected to go head-to-head with incumbent Karen Bass (D) in the election.

Pratt has made Bass’ response to the 2025 LA wildfires that burned his home — and 12,000 others — down a key aspect of his race, along with the city’s handling of its homeless crisis.

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