In this NewsBusters article, Siena Do criticizes Lawrence O’Donnell and Rachel Maddow for defending California’s prolonged vote-counting process and calling Los Angeles election counting “literally” transparent because ballots were being counted in a room with glass walls.
- The article focuses on a June 8 segment of The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell on MS NOW, formerly MSNBC.
- O’Donnell praised footage from Jacob Soboroff showing Los Angeles vote-counting operations, emphasizing that the room had glass walls and claiming the process “literally could not be more transparent.”
- NewsBusters argues that visible ballot-counting rooms do not, by themselves, resolve concerns about election transparency, chain of custody, ballot verification, or shifting vote totals.
- The piece points to California’s ongoing primary vote count, which had continued for more than a week, as the backdrop for conservative skepticism.
- The author specifically highlights the Los Angeles mayoral primary, claiming that early results appeared to favor a runoff between incumbent Democrat Karen Bass and independent Spencer Pratt before Democrat Nithya Raman moved into second place during mail-in ballot counting.
- NewsBusters criticizes Raman’s late surge and frames it as suspicious, while noting that Raman had reportedly given a concession-style speech earlier.
- Maddow defended California’s extended counting process, saying voters and reporters were told in advance that results would take weeks and that complete results may not come until 30 days after Election Day.
- Maddow also accused Republicans of bad faith, arguing that they only object to delayed counting once their preferred candidates appear likely to lose.
- The article rejects that framing, suggesting the media are asking viewers to trust a system that many voters see as opaque or vulnerable to manipulation.
- Overall, the piece portrays MS NOW’s coverage as dismissive of legitimate election-integrity concerns and overly eager to equate procedural visibility with full transparency.
Read the full story:
https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/siena-do/2026/06/10/ms-now-claims-california-elections-literally-could-not-be-more
