Here's why election results in the second largest US city are so slow

Election results are still trickling in for primary races across California, including in Los Angeles, where incumbent Mayor Karen Bass is up against reality-star-turned challenger Spencer Pratt to lead the city.

But the days-long delay in knowing who won these Tuesday races is a common occurrence in California - the most populous US state that's home to about 23 million registered voters. Counting these votes - including the millions of mail-in ballots could take weeks.

That's due to a meticulous vote-counting process, compounded by the broad use of mail-in ballots, which are mailed to every registered voter in California.

An estimated 80% of California votes are cast by mail and those ballots need to be sorted, validated and counted.

Mail-in ballots are valid as long as they are posted by election day and arrive to county election offices by 9 June, the day before they are certified by the state's election authority.

On election night, California Secretary of State Shirley N Weber confirmed the delayed results are "normal" and called on all Californians "to be patient", despite US President Donald Trump's claims of "BIG cheating" in the deeply liberal state.

Election officials across the California's 58 counties have up to 30 days after election day to count ballots. Final results must be reported to the California Secretary of State by 3 July and the secretary will certify results on 10 July 2026.

But Trump has claimed that Democrats are "trying to steal" elections in the state due to the delay in finalised results.

Mail-in voting has long irked the president, who repeatedly claimed without proof that the 2020 US election against President Joe Biden was "stolen" from him. In April, he signed an executive order to limit the practise by creating lists of US citizens who are eligible to vote in each state. Experts and critics have said he lacks the authority to do this.

The president has also claimed that federal prosecutors in Los Angeles are investigating votes cast, but California Governor Gavin Newsom's office has said on social media that Trump is "lying about California again".

Trump doubled down on Thursday, claiming again without proof that Democrats in California "are stealing" the election and urged Congress to pass the Save America Act - legislation that would require Americans to prove they are US citizens when they register to vote.

In a later post on X, Newsom's office reposted an explainer to combat misinformation, adding: "And yes, for the record: we wish the votes were counted faster, too."

While early votes are counted ahead