Ballots mailed on election day may be rejected, officials caution

The votes of Californians who drop their ballots in mailboxes on Nov. 4, election day, may not be counted because of U.S. Postal Service processing delays, state officials warned Thursday.

- BY DAKOTA SMITH AND MELODY GUTIERREZ

CHRISTINA HOUSE Los Angeles Times FRANCISCO SALOMON Mendoza of La Puente seals his mail-in ballot in 2024.

In many parts of the state, a ballot dropped in the mail is now collected the next day, said California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber at a news event Thursday.

The change affects voters who live 50 miles or more from six regional mail processing facilities in Los Angeles, Bell Gardens, San Diego, Santa Clarita, Richmond and West Sacramento, according to Bonta's office.

Ballots that aren't postmarked on or before election day are not counted.

The large swaths of the state affected by the Postal Service changes include both rural and urban areas such as Bakersfield, the Central Valley, the Central Coast, Palm Springs and more.

The warning by state officials to drop off ballots earlier than election day marks a dramatic shift in California, where mail-in voting has become accessible and popular. All registered voters in California receive a vote-by-mail ballot.

"If you want your vote to count, which I assume you do, because you're putting it in the mail, don't put it in the mail on election day if you're 50 miles from these voting centers," Bonta said.

In the Nov. 4 special election, California voters will decide on Proposition 50, championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats to try to boost their party's numbers in Congress by redrawing district boundaries.

The proposal came in response to a redistricting measure in Texas that seeks to increase the number of congressional Republicans at the behest of President Trump.