Key facts
- President Trump's campaign is using California's slow mail-in ballot count to delegitimize the midterms.
- Trump allies are characterizing the ongoing ballot count as a "slow-motion heist."
- The campaign's strategy mirrors previous efforts to cast doubt on election outcomes.
President Trump's campaign is employing California's protracted mail-in ballot counting process as a central argument to undermine the legitimacy of the recent midterm elections. As each new set of ballots is processed, allies of the President have publicly characterized the routine bureaucratic procedure as a "slow-motion heist," aiming to sow doubt about the election's integrity. This approach echoes tactics previously used by the campaign to question election results.