The votes for Californians who will vote for mailboxes on November 4th may not be counted due to delays in U.S. services processing, state officials warned Thursday.
In many parts of the state, votes voted for mail were collected the following day, Atty said. Gen. Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber at news event Thursday.
The change will affect voters who live more than 50 miles from six local email processing facilities in Los Angeles, Bell Garden, San Diego, Santa Clarita, Richmond and West Sacramento.
Votes that are not posted before Election Date will not be counted.
Larger strips of nations affected by postal services include both rural and urban areas such as Bakersfield, Central Valley, Central Coast and Palm Springs.
State officials’ warnings to halt votes earlier than Election Day show a dramatic change in California, where mail-in voting has become accessible and popular. All registered voters in California receive a vote per vote.
“If you want to count the votes, I think you’ll do that. If you’re 50 miles from these voting centres, don’t mail it in Election Day,” Bonta said.
In the special election on November 4th, California voters will decide to defend Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats, repeating district boundaries to increase the number of parties in Congress.
The proposal comes in response to a rezoning measure in Texas, which seeks to increase the number of Republicans in Congress at President Trump’s request.
Post Office Representative Natasi Garvins said in an email that the post office was not guaranteed on the same day. Garvins said customers who require manual postmarking should visit the postal service location and request it at the counter.
At a news event Thursday, state officials unveiled a large map with six circles around the postal facility. Communities outside the circle are affected by postmark changes. The Secretary of State’s office was unable to provide numbers as to how many registered voters will be affected.
Election expert Paul Mitchell looked up the map at the Times request.
“This will be a huge change for voters outside of these circles that have recently voted by mail on Election Day,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell said that some municipalities are voting on November 4th in addition to Proposition 50.
A news release from the US Postal Service in February, which appears to be part of a 10-year plan unfolded several years ago.
The postal service is not funded by the government, but receives some money from the council for certain services.
Bonta defended his decision on Thursday not to inform voters immediately about the changes, claiming that the announcement was lost in the news cycle.
“Now is the perfect time to tell people about this,” Bonta said. “This is the voting window. This is when people are thinking about voting.”
Weber said her office was only known about the change “a few weeks ago.”
Voting will be placed to registered voters in California starting October 6th. Voters can mail their votes, drop them down to the ballot box, or take them to the voting centre.
Weber also answered questions on Thursday about the defective voter guides mailed to voters represented by Rep. George Whitesides (D-Agua Dulce), who is in the 22nd district, rather than 27th district.
Weber denounced the office of legislative analysts and said her office had made a mistake. She said about 8 million people will receive postcards for taxpayers costs between about $3 million and $4 million.
Meanwhile, Newsom on Thursday signed a pair of bills he said he would protect the election from excessive impact.
Senate Bill 398 by Senator Tom Amberg (D-Orange) criminalizes the voter to provide voters with the opportunity to pay or win awards in exchange for voting or registering for the vote.
The new law exempts transportation incentives, such as rides to voting locations and compensation provided by government agencies for votes.
The bill was introduced in 2024 in response to the Elon Musk’s America PAC, which announced that it would hold lottery tickets for $1 million in Swing State for those who signed petitions in support of the first and second amendments.
The plan was widely criticized for its efforts to promote voter registration in support of Donald Trump at the time.
SB 42 by Umberg is also taking steps to voters in their November 2026 vote asking if the state should abolish the ban on statewide public funding campaigns.
If voters approve it, California can begin to look at a system that will help taxpayer dollars fund candidates for public office. Advocates say it will reduce the power of wealthy donors and shake up racial outcomes. Charter City is already allowed to have public funding programs among those Los Angeles, Long Beach and San Francisco have chosen to do so.
Newsom said the bill is part of a broader push to protect democracy in California.
“Now, our establishment ideals and values are shredded right in front of Washington, DC, and California is not idle,” Newsmom said. “These new laws further protect the voice of the Californians and the civic participation in what makes our nation and our nation great.”
