Why 150,000 California Mail Ballots Got Rejected in June—And What It Means for Your Vote

During California’s June 2026 primary, nearly 150,000 mail-in ballots were rejected, marking the highest rejection rate in recent elections at 1.73%. The primary culprit wasn’t voters being careless—it was the U.S. Postal Service’s postmark policy changes. When USPS shifted from marking ballots at local pickup to marking them at processing centers, and then consolidated some of those centers further away from communities, ballots started getting postmarked later even when voters mailed them on time. Over 93,000 rejections came from this postmark timing issue alone, a dramatic increase from approximately 76,000 in the 2024 primary.

California’s voting system allows mail ballots to arrive up to seven days after Election Day, but only if they’re postmarked by Election Day itself. This rule was designed to give voters flexibility while keeping elections secure. But when the federal postal system changed how and where it marks mail, that window essentially closed for thousands of voters through no fault of their own. Voting experts and Democratic lawmakers are now questioning USPS about the policy changes, and county election officials are scrambling to figure out how to protect voters in future elections.

Sacramento residents understand better than most how government systems are supposed to work, and this one clearly isn’t working right now. Beyond the postmark issue, 44,000 ballots were rejected for mismatched signatures and over 8,300 for missing signatures entirely. As we head into the general election season, the question voters are asking is urgent: if the system’s this broken now, what happens in November when even more people are voting by mail? What are you doing to make sure your ballot gets counted in the next election?