It is now more than two days since polls closed in Arizona and California, yet neither state is anywhere near close to completing its vote counts. Whereas Florida had 95% of its vote count completed and reported within two hours of polls closing, Arizona has not yet reached the 75% mark and California is barely past the halfway point. Washington and Oregon are also just barely reaching the three-quarters mark.

Fortunately, President-elect Donald Trump achieved such a commanding victory that none of these states ended up mattering in the Electoral College. But there is still some suspense in the Arizona Senate race and a slew of House races left to be decided in California. The long gap between voters voting and election officials announcing the results does not breed confidence in the system. It only sows distrust in the system and causes tension politically.