{"id":4250851,"date":"2024-04-08T16:13:08","date_gmt":"2024-04-08T23:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851///wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851//www.sbsun.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851//?p=4250851&preview=true&preview_id=4250851"},"modified":"2024-04-15T09:15:41","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T16:15:41","slug":"at-least-104-southern-california-voters-mailed-their-ballots-on-time-they-werent-counted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851///wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851//www.sbsun.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851//2024/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851//04/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851//08/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851//at-least-104-southern-california-voters-mailed-their-ballots-on-time-they-werent-counted/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851//","title":{"rendered":"At least 104 Southern California voters mailed their ballots on time. They weren/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u2019t counted"},"content":{"rendered":"

On or before the March 5 primary, 104 voters in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties mailed their ballots./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

Legally, those ballots should have been counted, barring a problem like a ballot envelope signature not matching what/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u2019s on file./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

But they weren/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u2019t tallied because registrars of voters in these counties received the ballots after March 12 — the final day that on-time mail-in ballots could be accepted./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

While Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties processed more than 3 million primary votes, ballots postmarked on time but arriving too late — however few — pose a challenge for California elections that rely heavily on ballots mailed to every registered voter./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u201cWhile this amount may not make any difference in the election results, it certainly makes a difference to the integrity of the process,/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u201d Robert Tyler of the Murrieta-based law firm Advocates For Faith & Freedom said via email./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

In a Thursday, April 4, letter, Tyler demanded that Riverside County halt certification of its primary results on the belief that 5,000 ballots remained to be counted. Those ballots weren/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u2019t valid because they were postmarked after Election Day, according to Riverside County Registrar of Voters Art Tinoco./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

Chapman University political science professor Fred Smoller said: /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u201cAll election procedures have their shortcomings. I hope this one gets fixed prior to the next election./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u201d/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

Hoping to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, California starting in 2020 required all registered voters, whether or not they voted by mail, to get a mail-in ballot to use if they so choose./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

By law, ballots postmarked on or before Election Day and received up to seven days after the election must be counted. It/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u2019s one reason why California election results take days, if not weeks, to be finalized./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

Most Californians vote by mail, with 88% mailing in their ballots for the 2022 general election, according to the secretary of state./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

According to Riverside County, 31 mail-in ballots postmarked on time arrived eight days after the election or later./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

In Orange County, 70 postmarked-on-time ballots arrived too late to be counted, with 61 arriving March 13, three arriving March 14 and six arriving March 15, according to that county/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u2019s registrar./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

In San Bernardino County, three ballots arrived between March 13 and March 15 that were postmarked on Election Day, according to elections office spokesperson Melissa Eickman. Information for similar ballots in Los Angeles County was not available as of Monday afternoon, April 8./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

Officials in Orange and Riverside counties said they weren/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u2019t sure why the ballots arrived late./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u201cWe can only process ballots as they arrive,/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u201d Riverside County registrar spokesperson Elizabeth Florer said via a text message. /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u201cWe cannot speculate as to why a ballot may take longer to arrive in our office./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u201d/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

U.S. Postal Service spokesperson Duke Gonzales did not provide an explanation for why the ballots arrived late./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

In an emailed statement, he said the service /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u201cis committed to the secure, timely delivery of the nation/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u2019s Election Mail/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u201d and is /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u201ccommitted to fulfilling our role in the electoral process when public policy makers choose to utilize us as a part of their election system./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u201d/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

Gonzales also shared election mail reports from 2020 and 2022. According to those reports, 99.89% of 2020 ballots and 99.93% of 2022 ballots nationwide were delivered within seven days./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u201cWe employ a robust and proven process to ensure proper handling and delivery of all Election Mail, including ballots,/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u201d Gonzales said./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

California allows voters to track their ballots online to ensure they are received and counted and receive texts or emails when their ballot status changes. Voters can sign up for the service at wheresmyballot.sos.ca.gov./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

Riverside County Supervisor Karen Spiegel, who is part of an ad hoc committee studying election issues in her county, said via email that she was concerned about the late-arriving ballots./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u201cI plan to ask the registrar of voters staff to work with the U.S. Postal Service to find solutions so this does not happen in future elections,/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u201d Spiegel said via email./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n

Her colleague, Supervisor Kevin Jeffries, said via email that the county /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u201cis also at the mercy of the Postal Service to deliver the ballots within the legal (counting) window./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/u201d/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4250851/n