Newsom Defends Extremely Slow Vote Counting In California

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is defending the insanely slow pace of counting ballots from California’s primary elections on Tuesday as critics claim the process reeks of corruption.

Newsom’s office posted an “explainer” video featuring CNN correspondent Elex Michaelson defending the state’s slow count as baked into California law.

He claimed that California leaders, including Newsom, wanted to make it easier for people to cast “last-minute ballots” by mail rather than focus more on counting ballots quickly.

In making that point, Michaelson’s video appeared critical of Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas—two states that have been recipients of California residents and companies.