NEW : The vote is a `` close contest , '' the California secretary of state 's office says . NEW : The biggest misconception is that the money collected `` will be somehow wasted or used otherwise , '' she said . Counties have 28 days to count mail-in , provisional , and damaged ballots . -- A federal judge in Florida has ordered that all counties across the country must begin counting votes by hand within two weeks after Election Day. The law would add $ 1 to California 's 87-cent tax on each pack of cigarettes .
NEW : The vote is a `` close contest , '' the California secretary of state 's office says . NEW : Counties have 28 days to count mail-in , provisional , and damaged ballots . -- A federal judge in Florida has ordered that all counties across the country must begin counting votes by hand within two weeks after Election Day. The law would add $ 1 to California 's 87-cent tax on each pack of cigarettes .