CA Election Ballots Mailed On Nov. 4 May Not Be Counted

Californians are beginning to receive their mail-in ballots for the Nov. 4 election, but officials caution that dropping one in the mailbox on Election Day could mean it won’t be counted.

This is because of U.S. Postal Service processing delays set in motion earlier this year, state officials said at a news conference on Thursday.

For residents who live in certain zip codes, mail now is collected the next day, Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber announced.

Those who live 50 miles or more from these six regional mail processing facilities in California are urged not to mail a ballot on Nov. 4: Los Angeles, Bell Gardens, San Diego, Santa Clarita, Richmond and West Sacramento.

The Secretary of State’s Office has not provided an estimate of how many registered voters are affected.

At the news conference, Weber said her office was only notified of this change a "couple" of weeks ago.

The news comes months after the U.S. Postal Service announced plans to slash 10,000 positions and cut down its budget amid a mail slowdown and pressure from the federal government earlier this year to downsize.

The folks largely affected by these changes live in rural and urban areas like Palm Springs, the Central Coast and the Central Valley.

Elections expert Paul Mitchel told the Los Angeles Times that this will mark a "significant change" for voters who live 50 miles outside of those communities.

The Postal Service began redesigning its processes to reflect a decline in mail service this year. USPS said it plans to reduce mail transmission to and from post offices from twice a day to one daily trip in the morning.

USPS offers an online zipcode-based tool to help people determine how long it will take for a package to arrive through the post office. See that tool here. California voters can also track their ballots using this tool.

It's important to note that ballots that aren't postmarked on or before election day are not counted.

California's special election will decide the fate of the controversial Proposition 50, a statewide redistricting measure driven by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s effort to mirror a similar initiative in Texas.

Redistricting, the process of redrawing voting district boundaries to determine which voters are grouped for elections, is typically done every 10 years based on census results.

At the urging of former President Donald Trump, Texas Republicans recently broke from that tradition to gain an advantage ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, with the GOP majority there seeking to create five additional Republican-leaning seats.

Newsom has framed California’s measure as a direct response, calling it a proxy battle with Trump as Republicans fight to maintain their narrow hold on the U.S. House.

“We can’t stand back and watch this democracy disappear district by district all across the country,” said Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential contender, at a Los Angeles rally last month. “Donald Trump, you have poked the bear and we will punch back.”

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