California’s slow vote-counting could be reshaped by a Supreme Court ruling on whether mail ballots must be received by election day; such a decision would have timing implications for November.

Watson v. Republican National Committee is expected to decide if federal-election ballots must arrive by election day, but experts doubt it will dramatically hasten California’s counting because late arrivals still affect results.

Currently, California counts mail ballots postmarked by Election Day if received within seven days; a federal ruling could force a policy change and trigger a rapid statewide voter-education push about new rules.

State officials are lining up contingency plans and seeking funding—about $35 million for voter education and $55 million for processing upgrades—to speed counting and inform voters if deadlines change.

If the Supreme Court issue is narrow, officials are weighing a bifurcated counting process for different election types (primary vs. general; federal vs. state/local), though details remain uncertain.

Slow counts have fueled unfounded fraud claims, with political pressure from federal and state actors to speed results, including challenges to mail-ballot procedures by the Trump administration.

County leaders, including Los Angeles County’s Dean Logan, are planning multi-language outreach to explain new requirements, deadlines, and voting options across channels.

Experts warn that a ruling requiring ballots to be received by election day may not meaningfully cut counting times, since bottlenecks persist with ballots before and on Election Day amid high processing volumes.