06/19/2026
FACT: Vote by Mail ballots must be received on or before Election Day to be counted.
California law provides a process for election officials to determine whether that ballot was mailed on time:
📬 First, we check for a postmark.
📬 If there is no postmark, we review USPS tracking information to determine when the ballot entered the mail stream.
📬 Only if no postmark or USPS mailing information is available do we review the voter’s signed date on the return envelope, as permitted by California Elections Code.
Importantly, a voter's signed date does not override a postmark or USPS mailing records.
This situation is rare. During this election, only 15 ballots reached the final step of this process.
Every ballot must still undergo voter, signature, and ballot verification before it can be counted.
