Attorney General held a press conference in Los Angeles to reaffirm the safety of mail voting and to urge voters who plan to mail ballots to do so at least one week before Election Day, the department said.
The California Department of Justice summarized recent court wins that it said protect Californians’ access to the ballot; the department said the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a federal change to mail-voting rules last month, the California Supreme Court ordered the return of roughly 650,000 unlawfully seized ballots in Riverside County, and a state appellate court upheld an injunction against a Shasta County measure that would have restricted mail and early voting.
To be counted, a ballot returned by mail must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by the voter’s county elections office no later than seven days after Election Day, the department said; in the June 2026 primary, 148,241 mail ballots were rejected statewide, and nearly two-thirds of those were rejected for late postmarks or late receipt.
The department recommended practical steps to avoid a rejected mail ballot: mail ballots early; if mailing close to Election Day, request a postmark at the post office counter; or drop off a completed ballot at a vote center or ballot drop box, which remain open through Election Day.
The department also highlighted a publication titled "Access to Voting for People with Disabilities," which summarizes federal and state requirements such as assistance for voters who need it, ADA accessibility of voting facilities, and California’s Voter’s Choice Act obligations; the release said people who believe they faced disability-based discrimination while registering or voting may file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department.
Californians can register to vote online at registertovote.ca.gov through Monday, Oct. 19, or register in person after that using Same Day Voter Registration, the release said; voters can track their ballots at wheresmyballot.sos.ca.gov and report denial of voting rights by calling the Secretary of State’s confidential toll-free Voter Hotline at (800) 345-VOTE (8683).
The department said the Attorney General’s office will be on call to assist the Secretary of State’s Office with election-law enforcement in the run-up to and on Election Day.
State
Rob Bonta
Attorney General · Democrat
Named 3 times in this story.
Portrait: Official portrait
Sources & methodology
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