California experienced a spike in mail ballot rejections during its June primary election, with approximately 148,241 ballots discarded—representing 1.73% of all mail ballots cast. This figure surpassed rejection rates from the 2024 primary, when 108,982 ballots were rejected at a 1.56% rate, and the 2022 primary, which saw 105,818 rejections at a similar rate to 2024.
The primary driver of increased rejections was late-arriving ballots, according to state data. Voting experts suspect the main issue involves postmarks applied after Election Day, rendering ballots ineligible for counting despite California’s seven-day grace period for mail-in ballots. Lateness accounted for 93,479 rejected ballots in June, substantially higher than approximately 70,000 in 2022 and 76,000 in 2024. Some observers attribute the problem to recent U.S. Postal Service policy changes that may affect how and when postmarks are applied to mail.
Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, characterized the jump in late-ballot rejections as a major concern potentially linked to postal procedures and a late surge in voting during the competitive gubernatorial race. Mindy Romero, director of the Center for Inclusive Democracy, stated the growing number of ballots rejected for lateness “does really demand the question why this is happening.” In January, predominantly Democratic senators sent a letter to the Postal Service expressing concern that processing changes could affect mail-in ballot postmarks during an election year determining congressional control.
Geographically, Tulare County in the Central Valley recorded the highest mail ballot rejection rate at 3.52%, followed by Alpine County and Merced County, both at 3.36%. Beyond lateness, other rejection reasons included signature mismatches accounting for nearly 44,000 ballots, missing signatures on 8,300 ballots, duplicate voting in 743 cases, and missing or multiple ballots in single envelopes.
California has become known nationally for protracted vote counting processes extending weeks or longer—a consequence of multiple reforms designed to increase participation. The state continues to lag behind large-population states like Florida and Texas in vote tabulation speed, a distinction former President Donald Trump cited while renewing criticism of the state’s elections.
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