Calif. primary saw rise in mail ballot rejection
Data drives concerns for November election
LOS ANGELES — More than 100,000 mailin ballots were rejected by California election officials during the March presidential primary, according to data obtained by The Associated Press that highlights a glaring gap in the state’s effort to ensure every vote is counted.
With the coronavirus pandemic raging, California is part of a growing number of states increasing mailin balloting to avoid crowds at polling places. President Donald Trump is among those questioning the integrity of votebymail elections, while supporters say they are just as reliable as polling places and offer greater flexibility for voters.
But while polling places include workers who can assist people who have questions about filling out ballots, a voter doesn’t have support at home and so problems can arise.
The California secretary of state’s election data obtained by the AP showed that 102,428 mailin ballots were disqualified in the state’s 58 counties, about 1.5 percent of the nearly 7 million mailin ballots returned. That percentage is the highest in a primary since 2014, and the overall number is the highest in a statewide election since 2010.
Two years ago, the national average of rejected mail ballots in the general election was about 1.4 percent, and in the 2016 presidential election year it was 1 percent, according to a U.S. Election Assistance Commission study.
The most common problem by far in California was missing the deadline for the ballot to be mailed and arrive. To count in the election, ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received within three days afterward. Statewide, 70,330 ballots missed those marks.
On an additional 27,525, either there was no signature or the signature didn’t match the one on record for the voter.
Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, which seeks to improve elections, called the uncounted figure discouraging.
“The only thing worse than people not voting is people attempting to vote and having their ballot uncounted,” she said. The tally of nullified votes “can make a difference in a close contest.”
The data didn’t break down the uncounted ballots by party registration. While the overall number was large in March, if it’s the same in November it’s unlikely to affect the presidential race. Trump lost to Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 by 4.3 million votes.
But there are expected to be at least several tightly contested U.S. House races in which a relatively few votes could tip the balance.
In preparation for November, the state is launching a ballottracking tool that will quickly alert voters if they need to take action, such as adding a missing signature. Another change: The state is extending the window for mail ballots to arrive to 17 days after Election Day.
With the COVID19 pandemic prompting many states to pursue nearly universal mail voting to minimize health risks that come with indoor crowds, national Republicans and Democrats have argued over the safety and security of votes traveling through the U.S. Postal Service.
Washington’s Republican secretary of state, Kim Wyman, is among those who see it as a safe system. So does Alex Padilla, California’s Democratic secretary of state, who says there is “no safer … way to exercise your right to vote than from the safety and convenience of your own home.”