John Wildermuth of the SF Chronicle:

A ballot count that lasts for weeks, an unintended feature of California voting, can undermine confidence in the results, according to a new report about conducting elections during the coronavirus pandemic and other troubled times.

“Fair Elections During a Crisis” was put together by a nationwide panel of 25 election scholars, including professors from UC Berkeley, Stanford and UC Irvine. It includes 14 recommendations “to advance the legitimacy of, and the public’s confidence in, the November 2020 U.S. elections.”

Leading that list is a call to limit delays in reporting election results, since a slow count “invites a distrust of the election process.” The report also warned that “last-minute shifts in the outcome of a state’s election due to late counted ballots … can substantially undermine public confidence in the integrity of the process.”

But with the growing use of mail ballots, many of which arrive after election day, counting delays are inevitable and shifting results common.