""Something changed," said Melvin E. Levey, who heads the Merced County Registrar of Voters. "We don't like seeing late ballots and if someone has made the effort to vote, we want to count it.""
"During the Nov. 4 election in California, an average of 8 out of every 1,000 vote-by-mail ballots were rejected by counties because they arrived too late, according to Secretary of State data."
"The issue appears to be linked to the U.S. Postal Service, which last year reduced the number of trips to pick up mail at post offices in mostly rural areas."
In California's recent special election, a notable rise in late mail-in ballots was observed, particularly in rural counties. The average rate of late ballots was four times higher than in the 2024 election. The U.S. Postal Service's reduction in mail pickups in rural areas is linked to these delays. Election officials reported that 8 out of every 1,000 mail-in ballots were rejected due to lateness. In Kern County, 1.95% of returned mail-in ballots were not counted because they arrived late, a significant increase from the previous election.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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