'Faster than Trump's DOJ on Epstein files': California Representative defends state ballot counters

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) came to the defense of California's mail-in ballot counting process, quipping that it moves faster than the Trump administration's release of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The ranking member of the House Oversight Committee has been relentlessly pursuing the case, most recently securing the deposition of former Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The speed of California's ballot counting has come under fire after President Donald Trump and Republicans cast doubt over the lengthy process to finalize results. Trump attacked the primary results over the weekend, suggesting the GOP Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt couldn't have lost his lead, posting "3rd World Nation. Rigged Elections!" House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) piled on Monday, asserting the results "stink to high heaven" without offering any evidence.

Garcia was not the only Democrat to rush to support the state. Xavier Becerra, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate who topped the primary, blamed Trump's contempt for democracy rather than any fault with California's process, writing on X: "We count every vote. Not just the ones Donald Trump likes." California Governor Gavin Newsom was more acerbic, dismissing Trump's accusations as the "ramblings of a mentally unfit man."

The quip lands with particular bite given the charged political climate, while also keeping Garcia's months-long battle for DOJ compliance in the spotlight. Democrats have repeatedly noted that the Trump administration has not released the entirety of the Epstein files. Yet not all Democrats are dismissing concerns about counting speeds outright. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) has called for genuine operational improvements, arguing that the wealthiest state in the nation has the resources to count the vast majority of votes within 48 hours. "Right now the system is eroding trust and spawning conspiracy theories," Khanna warned on X.

Khanna's suggestions notwithstanding, state officials and experts insisted the system is working as intended. "California has the largest number of registered voters in the nation—more than 23 million. Ensuring that all valid votes cast by eligible voters are accurately processed and counted takes time," California Secretary of State Shirley Weber wrote in an explainer. She noted that the first results posted on election night reflect ballots received before election day, including mail-in and early in-person votes, with additional results added as remaining ballots are processed in the following days.

It is worth noting that a majority of California voters cast ballots by mail, and verifying those ballots takes significantly longer than processing in-person votes, according to Votebeat. The outlet also noted that a large share of voters drop off their mail ballots on or just before Election Day, creating a bottleneck that slows the count considerably. Kim Alexander, founder and president of the California Voter Foundation, labeled the phenomenon "pig in the python" problem.