California mail-in ballots increasingly rejected as late, study finds

California mail-in ballots increasingly rejected as late, study finds

California is seeing an increase in mail-in ballots arriving too late to be counted, raising concerns about how recent changes to U.S. Postal Service operations could affect voters ahead of the November election.

A recent study from the Public Policy Institute of California found that 1.1% of all mail ballots returned to election officials in the June 2026 statewide primary arrived late, an increase from 0.7% during the 2025 Proposition 50 special election and 0.3% in 2024.

The study found the increase was concentrated in areas where the Postal Service eliminated evening mail pickups. Researchers said the changes may be putting more ballots at risk of arriving after California's deadline.

California allows counties to count vote-by-mail ballots that are postmarked on or before Election Day as long as they arrive within seven days after the election. For the Nov. 3 general election, ballots mailed back to election officials must be postmarked by Election Day and received by Nov. 10.

For Sacramento County, election officials say roughly half of voters have historically waited until Election Day to cast their ballot...