UMVA has learned that Spencer Pratt's bid to make the Los Angeles mayoral runoff hangs precariously in the balance, nearly a week after Election Day.
With incumbent Democrat Mayor Karen Bass already secured a spot in the November runoff, Pratt's margin over Democrat City Councilmember Nithya Raman has dwindled to a razor-thin 1%, with only a few thousand ballots left to be counted.
According to the latest election tally, Pratt leads Raman by a mere 7,494 votes, with 78% of the vote counted to date. Bass remains in first place with 235,180 votes (34.8%), while Pratt has 184,596 votes (27.3%) and Raman has 177,102 votes (26.2%).
The slow and contentious ballot count has drawn scathing criticism from the Republican National Committee, which is tracking the delays and demanding transparency. "The California primary ended on June 2, yet California is still counting ballots," the RNC website tracker reads.
The latest ballot update gave Raman a significant boost, as she picked up 23,514 votes in the latest batch, more than double Pratt's 10,336-vote gain. This dramatic shift has pushed the contest for second place into uncertain territory.
Pratt took to social media to express his frustration with the ongoing ballot count, posting a meme that read: "Me trying to figure out how votes get counted in LA."
Under California's top-two primary system, the two highest vote-getters advance to the general election, and Pratt and Raman are locked in a fierce battle for the remaining November spot.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy pointed to California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom as the culprit behind the delayed results, suggesting that Newsom's changes to election laws have led to the slow count.
The drawn-out process has sparked conspiracy theories and allegations of voter fraud, with some conservatives on social media decrying the probability of Pratt being shut out of the runoff.
Elon Musk weighed in on the debate, claiming that the lack of voter ID requirements in California and New York enables large-scale voter fraud.
Democrats, on the other hand, point to the overwhelming edge in registered Democrat voters versus Republicans, which they say explains Raman's surge in the late-counted ballots.
As the count continues, Americans are demanding greater election integrity and transparency, with many calling for an end to the delays and greater accountability in the electoral process.
The pending Watson v. RNC Supreme Court decision on late ballot counting may provide clarity on the issue, but for now, the uncertainty surrounding the Los Angeles mayoral runoff continues to grow.
