California election officials continued counting ballots days after the June 2 primary across the state, leaving the governor’s race and Los Angeles mayoral contest unresolved. The ongoing tabulation kept British-born conservative commentator Steve Hilton narrowly ahead for governor, with former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary Xavier Becerra close behind, while billionaire Tom Steyer trailed. Last update: June 6, 2026.
The extended timeline matters because late-arriving mail-in ballots can shift rankings under California’s top-two system, deciding who advances to November. State rules that accept ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within a set window, plus a multi-week signature cure periodmean final results typically settle well after initial returns.
Governor’s race standings and deadlines
With an estimated 60% of ballots counted, Hilton held a narrow lead over Becerra, while Steyer remained behind both. Under the top-two primaryonly the first two finishers proceed to the general election. Counties face a statutory completion target of June 15, but ballots postmarked by June 2 and received through June 9 remain valid, and officials must also process provisional ballots and cured signatures before certifying.
State officials reported roughly 3,606,128 ballots still to process, a volume that could materially alter close contests. Election administrators continued verifying voter signatures and eligibility, a step that precedes tabulation in California’s vote-by-mail workflow. Campaigns for all three leading gubernatorial candidates acknowledged that margins could move as these late ballots are added.
Why the count takes weeks in California
California mails a ballot to every active registered voter, prioritizing accessibility and accuracy over speed. The state allows a seven-day post–Election Day receipt window for mailed ballots and provides a 22-day period for voters to cure signature mismatches, ensuring valid votes are not discarded. These policies, while lengthening the count, are designed to include ballots that arrive on time under postal rules or face minor envelope issues.
High volumes of provisional ballots also extend the timeline because each must be individually researched to confirm voter eligibility and precinct assignment. Experts note that ballots counted later in the process tend to skew Democratic, since Republicans more often vote early or in person, while many Democrats submit ballots closer to the deadline. This pattern can cause late shifts that are routine under the state’s vote-by-mail model.
Political reactions to the slow count
Former President Donald Trump declared victory for his preferred candidate and alleged rigging in California’s process, saying the U.S. Department of Justice would investigate. Officials did not confirm any specific probe. His comments drew pushback from California Democratic leaders, who defended the state’s rules and said the procedures safeguard voter access and the accuracy of final totals.
Democratic Assemblymember Marc Berman called Trump’s assertion “a lie” and criticized efforts to restrict voting access. Governor Gavin Newsom’s office shared an explanatory clip highlighting that California counts thoroughly before declaring winners, emphasizing transparency over speed. Hilton called the count “another shambles brought to you by California Democrats,” but added that his campaign had seen nothing indicating a need to go to court.
Campaign positioning while votes are tallied
Hilton continued to center his message on economic change and affordability, describing what he termed an economic emergency in the state. Becerra’s team framed the stakes in national terms, arguing California’s leadership influences federal policy debates. Steyer’s campaign manager, Heather Hargreaves, urged patience and said the campaign would wait for every ballot to be counted before assessing the path forward.
Strategists on both sides expected the outstanding ballots to be decisive, particularly because late-counted votes historically differ from early returns. The campaigns signaled they would intensify outreach once the top-two field is finalized, including shifts in messaging aimed at a broader November electorate.
Los Angeles mayoral and other close contests
In the Los Angeles mayoral raceKaren Bass secured a spot in the runoff. The second runoff slot remained unsettled, with former reality TV personality Spencer Pratt leading progressive city councilmember Nithya Raman as roughly 65% of votes were tallied. Election officials said more batches of mail ballots and provisionals would be processed in the coming days, making the second berth sensitive to late shifts.
Several U.S. House contests were also too close to call. In the redrawn 6th congressional districtformer Republican and now independent incumbent Kevin Kiley led. Republican Michael Stansfield held second place narrowly ahead of Democrat Richard Pan, a former state lawmaker, with tens of thousands of ballots left to tally. The district’s new lines were designed to favor Democrats, making the late-count trend particularly relevant to the final order.
What to expect next in the count
County registrars planned additional updates as they verified signatures, reconciled precinct materials, and integrated late-arriving eligible mail ballots through June 9. The 22-day cure process allows voters with signature issues to confirm their identity, after which those ballots can be included. This procedural sequence typically compresses toward the legally required certification timeline, with incremental releases rather than a single final dump.
Observers anticipated that updated tallies could reshape several contests where margins are in the low single digits. Officials continued to caution that partial counts are not predictive and that final certified results could differ from early leads once all eligible ballots are processed. Campaigns and voters awaited further updates as California’s extended counting rules run their course.
