California voters urged to avoid last-minute mail-in ballots amid pick-up concerns

By Da Lin

With Election Day approaching, election experts are urging California voters to mail their ballots early or use official ballot drop boxes to avoid the risk of their votes being rejected because of late postmarks.

For Jeremy Rosenberg, a San Francisco voter, concerns about changes to the U.S. Postal Service prompted him to break with his usual routine. Instead of dropping his ballot into a neighborhood mailbox, as he has done in previous elections, Rosenberg visited the San Francisco Elections Office on Thursday to use an official ballot drop box for the first time.

“I purposely avoided using a USPS actual mailbox because I’m afraid of all the federal mail changes and the president saying that he doesn’t want people to vote by mail,” Rosenberg said.

He said he no longer feels comfortable relying on USPS to pick up his ballot on time.

“I’ve always just dropped off on the way to the gym or something, at the mailbox. But with everything coming from the capital right now, I just don’t feel comfortable doing that,” he said.

Other voters share his concerns. Jeanette Rogas, who also voted in San Francisco, said using an official drop box gave her greater confidence that her ballot would be counted.

“I felt like this is the one for certain way that I knew my vote is going to get counted on time,” Rogas said.

Election experts warn that recent U.S. Postal Service changes have slowed mail pick-up in some areas, raising concerns that more mail-in ballots could be rejected for arriving late.

Under California law, mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day can generally be counted if they arrive at county elections offices within seven days after the election. However, ballots deposited in mailboxes on Election Day — particularly after the day’s final collection — may not receive a postmark until the following day, potentially making them ineligible to be counted.

A recent report from the Public Policy Institute of California found higher rates of late-ballot rejections in some areas, particularly communities located farther from postal processing centers and those affected by reduced mail pickups. Younger voters and people with less voting experience are also more likely to have their ballots rejected as late, according to the report.

Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation, recommends mailing ballots at least a week before Election Day or go to a postal office counter to ask for a manual postmark.

“Plan to mail it at least one week before Election Day. That may seem kind of extreme, but we are seeing mail taking a longer time to arrive,” Alexander said.

Voters who miss that window can consider returning their ballots through an official drop box or delivering them directly to their county elections office, election officials recommend.

State officials said nearly 150,000 mail-in ballots were rejected in the June primary. Of those ballots, more than 93,000 were rejected as late.

Rogas said the number of rejected votes could have consequences for election outcomes.

“It’s enough ballots that could sway a decision,” she said.

For Rosenberg, the stakes are too high to take chances with his ballot.

“The country is in crisis. We have to make our voices heard,” he said.

With Election Day approaching, election officials encourage voters to plan ahead and choose a reliable way to return their ballots rather than waiting until the last minute.