What happened

Mail-in ballots rejected for arriving late in California’s November 2025 special election rose to 8 per 1,000, four times the 2024 rate of 2 per 1,000.

Rural counties were hardest hit. In Kern County, 3,303 ballots were rejected, a rate of 1.95% compared to 0.14% in 2024. Riverside County saw 5,831 rejections. Merced County reported a nearly sevenfold increase.

Why it matters: The same postal changes apply nationwide. Fourteen states and territories with post-election-day grace periods face the same risk ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Why it happened

The US Postal Service implemented new collection procedures as part of a 10-year cost-reduction plan. Mail collected from locations more than 50 miles from regional processing centres is now picked up the following day instead of the same day.

California law requires ballots to be postmarked by Election Day, with a five-day grace period for delivery. Under the new schedule, a ballot dropped in a rural mailbox on Election Day may not receive a postmark until the next day, making it automatically invalid.

Counties beyond 50 miles from California’s six processing centres saw rejection rates rise from 2 to 9.3 per 1,000.

What experts say

Paul Mitchell of Political Data Inc. said voters used the same mailing patterns as previous elections and were “feeling confident” their ballots would arrive on time. Requiring ballots mailed a week early is “a dramatic change that can disenfranchise voters,” he said.

Merced County Registrar Melvin Levey said: “Something changed. We don’t like seeing late ballots.”

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber has advised voters to have ballots postmarked at the counter rather than dropping them in mailboxes.

The broader dispute

President Trump signed an executive order directing USPS to issue mail-in ballots exclusively to voters on approved federal lists and to modify envelopes with tracking barcodes. Multiple lawsuits challenging the order are pending.

Critics argue the postal changes and executive order together create new barriers to voting, particularly for rural and elderly residents. Supporters say the measures improve election integrity and tracking.

What happens next

The 2026 midterm elections will be the first full national test of the new postal schedule. Election officials in affected states are weighing whether to extend grace periods, add drop-off locations, or launch voter education campaigns urging earlier mailing.