As results from the midterms elections continue to trickle in three weeks after Election Day, two critical House races in California and Colorado remain too close to call.
Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the House with 220 seats in GOP control – two seats over the 218 needed to hold a majority in the 435-seat chamber. The final uncalled House races could reshape the legislative outlook through the end of President Biden’s term, depending on which way these races swing.
Fox News Digital breaks down the two outstanding races and what is taking so long.
California
John Duarte, a farmer and businessman, is the Republican candidate running in California’s 13th Congressional District. (John Duarte for Congress)
The “toss-up” race to win California’s 13th Congressional District still remains uncalled by The Associated Press. The Republican nominee, John Duarte, holds a narrow lead over Democratic Assemblyman Adam Gray with a roughly 600-vote difference; however, with approximately 99% of votes counted, the final outcome could still go either way.
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Despite the 0.4% margin of victory Duarte currently holds over Gray, there is “no provision in California law to require an ‘automatic recount’ in any election contest,” according to California’s Secretary of State website.
California accepts mail-ballots for the week following Election Day, although the ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 8. The ballots must also go through a signature verification process before being counted.
California is a predominately vote-by-mail state, and every registered voter is automatically mailed a ballot 29 days prior to Election Day. With 22 million registered voters and weeks-long processing times, this means race calls can move very slowly in the Golden State.
Statewide, California still has 244,003 remaining ballots to be counted, according to estimates from the California Secretary of State’s report on Monday. Of the unprocessed ballots remaining, 184,989 of these ballots were mailed by voters. California permits election authorities one month to complete tallying. Voters could be waiting as late as Dec. 9 for a final race call in the 13th District, according to the Secretary of State’s website.
Colorado
Rep. Lauren Boebert won her first election to the House of Representatives by six points in 2020. (Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Colorado predominantly votes by mail, but processing is much swifter than California. In 2020, 90% of the vote was counted by Wednesday morning after Election Day, according to The Associated Press. Even so, mail-in ballots from out of state and overseas military service members can arrive as late as Wednesday as long as they were postmarked by Election Day.
Despite relatively speedier ballot processing times, Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District still remains too close to call, according to projections from The Associated Press.
Incumbent Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, who won her first election in 2020 by six points, was not expected to have such a close race with her Democratic opponent, Adam Frisch, in the “likely Republican” seat. The one-term congresswoman is narrowly leading by 554 votes with 99% of the vote counted, according to the latest tallies from The Associated Press.
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Though the race qualifies for a recount under Colorado state law, Frisch conceded to Boebert on Nov. 18. However, The Associated Press has not called the race as of Tuesday.
Fox News’ Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.
