Following recent elections, approximately 150,000 California voters had their mail-in ballots rejected during the state’s June primary. This increase is notable against efforts to streamline voting processes and improve voter participation.
California’s lengthy vote count periods, often lasting weeks, reflect several changes made to increase turnout. Now, every voter receives a mail-in ballot that is counted, provided it is postmarked by Election Day and arrives within seven days at election offices. Despite this allowance, late-arriving ballots remain a significant reason for rejections, as reported by the secretary of state’s office.
The core problem appears to be ballots postmarked after Election Day, attributed largely to potential changes in the U.S. Postal Service’s handling of postmarks. During the June election, a total of 148,241 mail ballots were rejected, representing 1.73% of all mail ballots cast. This number increased from the 108,982 rejected in the 2024 primary, which had a rejection rate of 1.56%.
In June, late-arriving ballots contributed to 93,479 rejections. This contrasts with around 70,000 and 76,000 rejections due to lateness in the previous 2022 and 2024 primaries respectively. Voting experts like Kim Alexander from the California Voter Foundation express concern over these numbers, attributing them partly to postal procedures and a late surge in voting due to an unpredictable governor’s race.
Mindy Romero from the Center for Inclusive Democracy notes that fluctuating rejection rates highlight the need to investigate this persistent issue. Lawmakers have expressed their concerns over postal service changes. A group of mostly Democratic U.S. senators voiced their alarms in January about potential impacts on postmarking during critical election years.
Recent policy updates within the postal service indicate postmarks might not reflect the first day mail is received but could occur at processing centers, sometimes remote due to consolidations. This change might lead to further postal delays.
California’s mail ballot rejection rate was highest in Tulare County at 3.52% during June. Alpine County and Merced County both had rejection rates of 3.36%. Other causes for rejection include mismatched signatures, unsigned envelopes, multiple ballots in one envelope, and previously cast votes.
Even as California faces scrutiny over its voting process, the popularity of mail voting among both Democrats and Republicans remains supported by data. A Brookings Institution report indicates minimal mail voting fraud, estimating only about four cases per 10 million mail ballots.