More mail-in ballots were rejected during California’s June primary, than the previous election, according to a new study.
The two main reasons for an increase in rejected ballots were age and a reduction to the U.S. Postal Service hours. It found inexperienced voters were more likely to have ballots rejected.
Just over one percent of mail ballots were rejected during the primary, up from about seven tenths of a percent in last year’s special election.
Eric McGhee, one of the researchers behind the Public Policy Institute of California study, says the results are something to keep a pulse on.
" It's a pretty low number. I mean, of course, you know, any number can affect the outcome of election if the election's close enough," says McGhee. "But, you know, we're not talking about huge numbers of ballots, so that's good. But the numbers are rising, which is concerning."
Ballots must be postmarked before or on election day and officials must count them within seven days of the election.
Ken Casparis, with Sacramento County’s elections office, says the study's numbers are consistent with Sacramento’s rejection rate.
"Vote early," adds Casparis. "If you are concerned about the US Postal Service, vote by ballot dropbox or go to one of the vote centers. We've got lots of friendly staff there, manning those vote centers once they open on October 24th."
Ballots will start to show up in mailboxes on October 5th. If you want to avoid the mail system altogether, there will be more than 60 election drop boxes sprouting up throughout the county as the election gets closer.