California independent Rep. Kevin Kiley is renewing his push for federal election reforms, arguing on Newsmax that his state's lengthy vote counting process undermines public confidence and creates uncertainty in federal elections.

During an interview Friday on "National Report," Kiley said California's practice of taking weeks to finalize election results is unique among states and should be addressed through congressional action.

"It's absolutely unacceptable," Kiley said. "And frankly, no other state does it like this. It's just California, where — for quite a while now — we've had this drama where you have one result on election night, and then that may or may not be the result in the coming weeks."

Kiley pointed to legislation he has backed, the Election Results Accountability Act, which would establish federal deadlines for counting ballots and certifying election results in federal races.

The bill would require states to publicly report at least 90% of ballots cast within 72 hours of polls closing and complete certification within two weeks of Election Day.

"As you see the late arriving ballots start to be tabulated and you get updates every few days for a full month," Kiley said, adding that both The New York Times and The Washington Post editorial boards have criticized California's vote counting process.

"We call it the Election Results Accountability Act, which says something pretty simple: that you have to count most of your votes on election night," he added.

Kiley argued that Congress has authority to act because the issue involves federal elections.

"Because we're talking about elections for federal offices like Congress, Congress has a role to play here and oversight in assuring that citizens receive timely election results — that we don't have the instability created by this monthlong vote count," he said.

His comments come as California continues counting ballots from its June primary elections, a process that has again drawn national attention. Kiley advanced to the November general election in a newly redrawn Northern California congressional district.

Kiley also rejected claims from former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra that election reforms could disenfranchise voters.

"Apparently he thinks that Massachusetts and Colorado and every other state, red or blue, throughout the country is disenfranchising voters because [they] manage to count their votes in a timely fashion," Kiley said.

He cited the Election Performance Index, a nonpartisan ranking system, saying California ranks near the bottom nationally despite its expansive voting laws.

"The reality is actually quite the contrary," Kiley said. "The Election Performance Index … ranks California 41st out of 50."

The discussion also touched on broader election security debates. President Donald Trump has urged Republicans to advance the SAVE America Act — legislation that would require documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration in federal elections.

The House approved the measure earlier this year, but its prospects in the Senate remain uncertain.

Supporters say the bill would strengthen election integrity, while opponents argue it could make voter registration more difficult for some eligible voters.

Kiley additionally criticized California's universal mail ballot system, which was adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic and later made permanent.

"Well, this was a COVID-era change where they said, 'In order to have a safe election, we need to mail a ballot to everyone, whether or not they requested a mail-in ballot,'" Kiley said. "And then shortly after COVID, they said, 'All right, we're going to make this permanent now.'"

He added that voter rolls are not always updated quickly enough, leading to ballots being sent to former residents or deceased individuals, and argued California should return to a system in which voters request mail ballots if they wish to vote remotely.

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