Steve Hilton Calls on Gavin Newsom to Address California's Voting Delays with Emergency Teams as Trump Accuses Democrats of 'Cheating'

STEVE HILTON has called on Gavin Newsom to send emergency response teams to clear California’s ballooning vote-counting backlog.

It comes shortly after and launched a federal probe into the state’s sluggish election process.

Steve Hilton proposes an ‘Emergency Election Count Accelerator Corps’ to clear California’s ballot backlog Credit: AP California, currently governed by Gavin Newsom (pictured), has a slow election reporting system which Hilton says has become a ‘national embarrassment’ Credit: Reuters

The Republican gubernatorial hopeful unveiled plans for an “Emergency Election Count Accelerator Corps” after hundreds of thousands of ballots remained unprocessed days after California’s Tuesday primary.

Under Hilton’s proposal, state workers from non-essential administrative roles would be temporarily reassigned to county election offices struggling with delays, while regional election teams would be dispatched to areas facing the biggest backlogs.

The plan would also create an Election Count Accelerator Fund to help counties pay for overtime, expanded shifts and weekend operations to speed up ballot processing.

Hilton said California’s slow election reporting system had become a national embarrassment.

“California is the laughing stock of the nation when it comes to election reporting,” he said.

“We are the fourth-largest economy in the world, home to Silicon Valley and some of the most advanced technology on earth, yet government bureaucrats need a month to count fewer than 10 million ballots.

“It’s insane. Every election brings the same excuses, the same delays, and the same collapse in public confidence. Californians deserve better.”

Hilton insists the emergency measures would not alter election laws, security procedures or vote-counting standards.

He adds the goal is to deliver complete and verified results by 8pm on June 11 – just 48 hours after the deadline for receiving mail-in ballots.

The proposal comes amid growing frustration over California’s notoriously slow counting process, which routinely drags on for weeks despite turnout figures that are far lower than those seen in many other major democracies.

Hilton has repeatedly pointed to India’s ability to count hundreds of millions of votes in a single day as evidence that California’s system is failing voters.

It comes as President Trump accused Democrats of benefiting from the prolonged count and revealed that federal investigators are examining the situation.

Ballots being inspected the day after California’s primary election at the Los Angeles County Ballot Processing Center Credit: AP Hilton’s plan involves reassigning state workers and creating a fund to speed up ballot processing Credit: AP

“There’s BIG cheating by the Dumocrats in California. Votes are all tied up,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in the early hours of Thursday morning.

“May not be in for weeks. Under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Why the vote counting DELAY???”

The latest primary figures show Hilton narrowly leading the race for governor with 27.2% of the vote, representing 1,532,530 ballots cast.

Democrat Xavier Becerra trails on 26% with 1,468,875 votes.

Despite those totals, only 59.6% of expected votes have been counted, with an estimated 3.8 million ballots still outstanding.

Hilton argues that while emergency measures could help clear the current backlog, broader reforms will be needed to restore public confidence in California’s election system and prevent future delays.