Nation's last uncalled congressional race in California, nearly month after election

(The Center Square) - Almost one month after Election Day, one key Congressional race in California remains neck-and neck as the same pair of opponents race to a neck-and-neck finish.

Democrat Adam Gray is now up nearly 200 votes against Republican Congressman John Duarte in the Central Valley District that voted in favor of recalling California Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2022.

If Republicans lose the seat, they'll have only a five-seat majority in the House of Representatives, and Democrats will have flipped two Congressional races in an election in which Vice President Kamala Harris failed to flip a single county - a first for a presidential candidate since 1932.

With 1,576 unprocessed ballots and 10,120 ballots to be “cured” — ballots to be corrected by voters for a variety of reasons, but typically having to do with signature verification or improperly filled out ballots — the race is likely to be determined by the curing process.

While elections officials formally carry out the curing, political parties, nonprofits, and political action committees often conduct labor-intensive, and sometimes costly, direct outreach to voters whose ballots are in need of curing.

California does not have an automatic recount rule, but local voters can file for a recount day starting on the 31st day after the election. However, California’s Secretary of State must certify results no later than 38 days after an election.

Because a recount can be requested up to five days after the 31st day after the election, it’s possible for recounts to finish after official certification. If a recount finds a new winner, the election must be recertified. All of the ballots cast in an entire jurisdiction must be recounted to change the contest’s result.

The 13th Congressional District includes Merced County, most of the population of Madera County, and parts of Fresno, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus Counties. Across the aforementioned counties, 10,120 ballots remain to be cured, a figure that does not include the 1,576 unprocessed ballots across the counties.

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber has until December 13 to certify the results of the election. When there were 1.7 million uncounted ballots over a week after the election, Weber told reporters she and the state’s election officials take “pride” in not being “rushed.”