What’s going on in California and other states?

A week after the election several House seats still have not been decided

Election Day was a week ago when all the people’s votes are supposed to be counted so we can know who will represent us in the House and Senate.  All but two Senate races have been decided, Alaska, which is neck and neck between two Republicans, incumbent Lisa Murkowski and challenger Kelly Tshibaka, who is leading by about 3,000 votes as of 7am today, with only 71 percent of the expected votes counted.  Huh?  A week after the election and Alaskan officials still have not counted all the votes. 

The Georgia runoff for the Senate seat is moot for control of the upper chamber, because two Independents caucus with the 48 Democrats, giving them 50 seats plus Vice President Harris as the tie breaker.  In other words, no Republican was able to flip a Senate seat while Democrat Fetterman flipped the Pennsylvania seat beating Dr. Oz. 

How inept were Republicans in this cycle?  Off the charts incompetent.  Given a 40 year high in price inflation, out of control federal spending, endless aid to Ukraine, and a constant stream of unauthorized immigrants at the southern border, why didn’t voters overwhelming choose GOP candidates instead of left wingers throughout the country? 

According to the Wall Street Journal editorial, independent voters broke for the Democrats, assuming of course there was no hanky panky in tabulating the vote.  Was the abortion issue a deciding factor according to some pundits?  Maybe in deep blue states which was going to be won by Democrats anyway.  But did Independent voters who are pro-choice break for the Democrats in tight races? 

One race is a real head scratcher, the Nevada Senate race where former state attorney general Adam Laxalt lost the race in a squeaker (48.8 to 48.0 percent) while the GOP gubernatorial candidate Joe Lombardo won his race, 48.8 to 47.3 percent.  In other words, Laxalt lost by about 8,000 votes, while Lombardo won by 14,000 votes, a swing of 22,000.  And the race was not called until this past weekend.  Something does not smell right. 

In California, the home of Silicon Valley and technological innovations, there are House races where as little as 36 percent of the expected votes have been tallied.  Are California election officials so inept that they cannot count all the House races when the gubernatorial and US Senate races were called on Election Day?  To ask the question is to answer it. Or is something nefarious going in the not so Golden State?

The good news for Republicans is that they are on the cusp of having a House majority.  The Google election map has the GOP with 217 seats (7:50am), while Reuters has the GOP at 215 seats.  The Democrats have 205 (Google) and 207 (Reuters). A week after Election Day, we should have the results by now.  Investigations are needed to uncover the delays in counting the vote. 

Maybe we are witnessing the words of Joseph Stalin regarding elections, “The people who cast the votes don't decide an election, the people who count the votes do.”

To ensure honest elections the following rules should be implemented in each state.

·      Early voting can only occur a week before Election Day, including Saturday and Sunday.  Polls should be opened from 6am until 10pm. Two shifts of eight hours would provide the needed personnel to man the polls.

·      Mail In ballots only for individuals who can certify that they will be out of their voting district on Election Day or are unable to get to the polls for early voting.  They must be received a day before Election Day so they can be counted, and the results known by the time the polls close.

·      No more drop boxes for mail in ballots. Show up in person to vote or have a legitimate reason you need a mail in ballot. 

Of course, there will be excuses why the above changes are “unfair.”  When I first voted in 1968, we went to the polls and very few mail in ballots were cast and there were no drop boxes.  Local races were decided soon after the polls closed.  It can be done again.

These rules would reduce markedly—but probably not eliminate--the concerns of critics about election fraud. However, there is the assertion that the electronic voting machines are “rigged.”   This is the most serious charge about election integrity.  The solution.  Paper ballots counted in a secure room at each polling place throughout the day and overseen by independent poll watchers who are monitored by cameras.   By the time the polls close, results should be known within an hour or two.  No more delays in declaring a winner. 

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The Finance of Health Care reveals how businesses can lower their medical insurance costs markedly.  Medical entrepreneurs from around the country are showing us the way to provide quality medical care at much lower prices.  My other books on the Fed, and the boom/bust cycle are also available on Amazon. 

Every Thursday at 5:35 (EST), I am on the Gary Nolan show, usaradio.com, to discuss current economic and political issues.