“Claims of election fraud are nonsense,” says Times columnist Mark Z. Barabak. Why does it take so long to count the ballots? “A while ago, California lawmakers made a decision to make it as easy as possible for Californians to vote,” he says while explaining the state’s mail-in ballot process.
Mark Z. Barabak is a political columnist for the Los Angeles Times, focusing on California and the West. He has covered campaigns and elections in 49 of the 50 states, including 13 presidential contests and scores of mayoral, legislative, gubernatorial and congressional races. Follow him on Bluesky at markzbarabak.bsky.social and on X at markzbarabak.
Mark E. Potts is a former senior editor for video at the Los Angeles Times. A native of Enid, Okla., Potts graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a master’s degree in broadcast journalism. He has created and edited video for DreamWorks, YouTube, Microsoft, Sony and BET.
