Voters in California‘s 16th Congressional District, which includes the cities of Palo Alto, Los Gatos, and Half Moon Bay, went to the polls on March 5 to choose a successor to retiring Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA). Not until nearly two months later, on May 2, were the top two vote-getters in the jungle primary identified. They will now face each other in the general election this November.

Two months is far too long to count votes, and this is not the first time California has taken an inordinate amount of time to finalize a result. Delays breed doubt and conspiracy without the compensation of increased accuracy.