Subject: Re: No Spencer Pratt for LA
Just to put this thread to rest.

https://www.sos.ca.gov/adminis...

20991. Standards for Valid and Invalid Vote-by-Mail Ballots
A vote-by-mail ballot shall be subject to the standards provided in the approved use procedures for the system on which it is processed and the provisions of the Elections Code. In addition, the following standards shall also apply.
A voter's ballot shall be considered a valid ballot, if the

Vote-by-mail ballot identification envelope has no dated postmark, the postmark is illegible, and there is no date stamp for receipt from a bona fide private mail delivery service, but the voter has dated the vote-by-mail ballot identification envelope or the envelope otherwise indicates that the ballot was executed on or before Election Day and the ballot was received by the elections official in accordance with Elections Code section 3020.


And what does Section 3020 say?

https://california.public.law/...

If the ballot has no postmark, a postmark with no date, or an illegible postmark, and no other information is available from the United States Postal Service or the bona fide private mail delivery company to indicate the date on which the ballot was mailed, the vote by mail ballot identification envelope is date stamped by the elections official upon receipt of the vote by mail ballot from the United States Postal Service or a bona fide private mail delivery company, and is signed and dated pursuant to Section 3011 on or before election day.
(c)For purposes of this section, “bona fide private mail delivery company” means a courier service that is in the regular business of accepting a mail item, package, or parcel for the purpose of delivery to a person or entity whose address is specified on the item.

...which would be why I asked about private couriers upthread.

So yes. Ballots don't need postmarks in the state of California. As I said.

The Federalist puts things this way
That doesn’t necessarily prove fraud in the mayoral race, but it does leave room for questions and skepticism (Ed: unless you're a credulous liberal) about California’s election integrity when it chooses to count ballots that lack an objective third-party method of verification for the day they were mailed out on. For example, a voter realistically could cast a ballot the day after the election but handwrite the Election Day date on the envelope since the system relies heavily on self-reporting and trust. If the ballot arrives within the seven-day time frame during which mail-in ballots are accepted, the ballot could count.