Letters to the Editor: No one has ‘won’ California until every last vote has been counted

To the editor: More than an hour after polls were supposed to close on election night, many remained open because of long lines. Furthermore, the high numbers of mail-in and provisional ballots may take days to count.

The vote is not in, and the specific results based on the primary rules for California may not be known for days, meaning how many delegates each candidate got will not be known.

Nevertheless, headlines from various sources declared that Sen. Bernie Sanders had won California shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday. There is no specification of how the delegates will be allocated. So, as of now, no one has “won.”

I never thought I would use this phrase, but it smacks of “fake news.” What a disgrace to democracy and journalism.

Michael Miller, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Considerable coverage is given to the presidential election candidates. They claim positions on everything, but laws are the function of the legislative branch, and the biggest reason for our current problems is the control Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) exerts on the Senate.

The focus of voters should be on the Senate. I wish former New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Tom Steyer, both billionaires who dropped out of the presidential race, would pour their wealth into the Senate races.

Paul McRae, Torrance

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To the editor: With the departure of Bloomberg from the primary, Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren may consider that they are the hardest campaigners and most ideologically compatible candidates remaining in the primary.

Running on a joint ticket going forward might be their best hope for securing a progressive agenda.

William T. Fidurski, Clark, N.J.