Voting Process for California Primary was ‘Chaos’

California primary (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)
Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press
Adelle Nazarian

Chaos, confusion and frustration reigned at the polls in Southern California yesterday, as hundreds of voters were forced to fill out provisional ballots, making it apparent that counting their votes would become a week-long endeavor.

“It was just chaos,” writer Allison Bloom, 41, told the Los Angeles Times.

Bloom, who had taken her kids with her to her polling place for their first voting experience, said: “It was kind of an unfortunate first experience at the polls for them.”

Broken machines, delayed openings at polling site, complicated voting laws, and incomplete voter rolls were reported by citizens.

According to the Times, Target Book, an independent publication, said it was “probable” that as many as 3 million ballots could remain uncounted at the end of Tuesday night. The analysts reportedly said those ballots were likely to come from Democrats, Latinos and millennials, many of whom were Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) supporters.

Hillary Clinton, who had already officially been deemed the Democratic Party’s nominee, finished widely ahead of Sanders in  with 55.8% to Sanders’ 43.2%.

Yet Sanders remained defiant during his Election Night rally speech in Santa Monica, refusing to concede: “The struggle continues!”

Many Sanders supporters had accused the media of attempting to suppress voter turnout, with the Associated Press’s allegedly premature announcement that Clinton had won enough delegates to become the nominee.

Voters took to social media to express their frustrations.

A man named Brandon Silverman, 29, documented and posted video of his experience at a local polling site in the zip code 90026, which is known as “Bernie County.”

Silverman — who is a TV editor — was, like many of his fellow Sanders supporters, forced to fill out a provisional ballot, “which does not get counted until after the election.”

The Times notes that California election law provides counties with 30 days to count votes cast. However, it is still unclear how many ballots remain uncounted.

Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter @AdelleNaz

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