Approximately 150,000 to 170,000 votes were not counted in the last California election because they arrived more than seven days after Election Day.
Posted by What A Day, Checked
- Sources
- 3 contradict1 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 88%
What A DayOct 22, 2026
The claim says 150,000 to 170,000 uncounted votes in the last California election were uncounted because they arrived more than seven days late. The sources put total rejected mail ballots in the June 2026 primary at about 148,241, and only about 93,479 of those (roughly 63%) were rejected for late arrival, so both the figure and the cause are contradicted.
What was said
… Day, you should go to a local post office counter and get a postmark if you're going to use the Postal Service, or perhaps even better yet, just drop it in a ballot box or at a polling station or at a local elections office to ensure it gets counted. Of those i think it was 150,000 or 170,000 votes that weren't counted after, in the last election, was because they arrive after seven days after Election Day, which is the cutoff. If you cast your vote by mail ballot on or before Election Day, but it arrives less than seven days after Election Day, it's counted. But if it arrives eight days later, nine days later, ten days later, it's not counted. …
What A Day · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. AP reports that 148,241 mail ballots were rejected in the June primary, and that lateness accounted for 93,479 of them, the largest category; the total is below the claimed 150,000 to 170,000 range.[3]
Contradicts. Democracy Docket, citing state data, reports 93,479 ballots rejected for being late, which it says is 63% of all rejected mail ballots, not the full 150,000 to 170,000 figure.[4]
Contradicts. KQED reports 148,241 vote-by-mail ballots left uncounted, of which 93,497 were rejected for late arrival, so the late share is well below the claimed total.[5]
Supports. CBS (tier 2) notes nearly 150,000 mail-in ballots were rejected in the June primary, with more than 93,000 rejected as late, which matches the AP figures and confirms the near-150,000 total but not the lateness-only attribution.[6]
Context. Under California law, mail ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within seven days are counted, so ballots arriving after that window are the ones rejected as late.[1][2]
Sources
6 sources: 1 fact-checker, 1 primary, 3 not rated, 1 tier 2
- 1Nearly 150000 mail ballots rejected in California's primary ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2Official Canvass - Vote Counting Process :: California Secretary of Statesos.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 3Nearly 150,000 mail ballots rejected in California's primary despite ...ap.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 4California rejects nearly 150,000 mail ballots despite voter safeguardsdemocracydocket.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 5California Rejected 150,000 Mail Ballots, Marking Highest Rate ...kqed.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 6California voters urged to avoid last-minute mail-in ballots ...cbsnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- California mail-in ballots are counted if they are cast on or before Election Day and arrive within seven days after Election Day.True
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- Two-thirds of mail-in ballots rejected in California in June were rejected because they arrived late or were postmarked after Election Day.True
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