California Votes Are Still Being Counted After Primary Election

California held its primary election on June 2, and officials are still counting all the votes. People voted to choose who will run for important jobs like governor and mayor of Los Angeles. The counting process is taking several days because many Californians voted by mail instead of going to polling places. Election workers must carefully check each mail-in ballot to make sure it is valid.

The state uses a unique system called a 'jungle primary' for these elections. This means all candidates from every political party compete against each other in the same race. Only the top two vote-getters will advance to the November general election. This system is different from most other states, where candidates from the same party compete separately in primary elections.

The race for California governor is extremely close. Xavier Becerra, a Democrat who previously served in the federal government, currently leads with over 1.88 million votes. Republican candidate Steve Hilton is in second place with more than 1.79 million votes. Democrat Tom Steyer trails in third place with over 1.4 million votes. The winner will replace current Governor Gavin Newsom, who cannot run again due to term limits.

Los Angeles residents also chose candidates for mayor in this primary election. Current mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, is leading the race with more than 250,000 votes. City Councilwoman Nithya Raman has moved into second place with over 196,000 votes. Former reality TV personality Spencer Pratt fell to third place with just over 193,000 votes. The shift happened after election officials processed more ballots on June 7.