A need for speed: Several states are looking for ways to count votes faster

In California, it took election workers more than a month to tally all the votes from last year's general election.

Because of varying election laws, some states take significantly longer than others to count ballots. But now, legislators in California and several other states — including Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Wisconsin — have signaled interest in tackling vote-counting rules in an effort to speed up the process. It's a mix of states, led by Democrats or Republicans or with divided government, and one key question is whether lawmakers can quicken results without sacrificing access to the ballot.

Some legislators and advocates say faster results would allow less time for misinformation about election administration to take hold. But Arizona state Sen. Warren Petersen said much of the clamoring for changes in his state is coming straight from voters. "I have never received as many calls or messages from constituents as I have regarding getting election results faster," he told NPR.