UMVA has learned that California's struggle with counting votes in a recent election has left the nation bewildered, as the state's laborious process has dragged on for days, starkly contrasting with other large states like Florida, which can declare winners within 24 hours.
The Golden State's plodding pace is particularly puzzling given the substantial resources allocated to Los Angeles, where the Clerk's office receives an annual budget of $336 million and a $448,179 salary for the Clerk, supported by 1,100 budgeted positions.
In most states, such inefficiency would spark outrage among voters, but Californians seem resigned to subpar performance from their elected officials, a phenomenon that can be described as the "Politics of Low Expectations."
This mindset appears to have permeated the state's politics, with California Democrats seemingly applying a similar approach to governance, creating a voter base with few expectations, much like a successful marriage built on lowered expectations.
A prime example of this is Governor Gavin Newsom's high-speed train project, which was initially promised to be a 500-mile rail line from San Francisco to Los Angeles for $33 billion but now projects a cost between $126 billion and $231 billion, with no track yet laid.
Despite the staggering cost overruns and lack of progress, Newsom recently touted the project's progress, standing beside a freight train on an existing track, leaving citizens underwhelmed but unsurprised.
This collective shrug in response to catastrophic governance is also evident in other areas, such as a massive solar power farm that produced energy at a higher cost and incinerated thousands of birds a year, and a growing crisis of homelessness, dismal education scores, and an exodus of business and wealthy taxpayers.
California's leaders have also imposed taxes that make gas the most expensive in the nation while suppressing its own energy industry, leading some to wonder if voters will eventually demand more from their government.
The same "Politics of Low Expectations" seems to be spreading to other states, including New York City, where voters have grown accustomed to a bloated budget and subpar public services, and Chicago and Los Angeles, where public schools are spending massive amounts on education but still graduating students who lack basic proficiency in English and Math.
As California slowly counts its votes, it appears likely that the status quo will continue, with poor services, rising crime, and rampant homelessness treated as virtually inevitable, leaving voters with a government that only a politician would love: passive and expectant of little.
