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A new policy on postmarks just took effect in California and across the country, one voting rights groups said will cause many ballots in rural areas to be rejected.

The change means mail will not be postmarked when it is first received at the local post office. It will now be postmarked once it reaches a regional processing facility, which could be several days later.

Michael Chameides, communications and policy director for the nonprofit Rural Democracy Initiative, said the U.S. Postal Service is also trying to eliminate evening mail pickups from rural post offices, so mail in rural areas will take longer to get a postmark and be delivered.

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"This change is going to impact about 70 percent of ZIP codes," Chameides pointed out. "The people in rural communities are going to be hit twice. Our mail is going to take longer to get there, and then the documents that need a postmark are going to show the wrong date. And this is going to lead to a whole lot of people having their votes discounted because of this policy choice."

The final rule took effect on Christmas Eve. The Postal Service argued the changes are necessary to save money and increase efficiency. They suggested people who need to mail time-sensitive documents should give them extra time to be delivered, or ask for a manual postmark or a certificate of mailing at the local post office.

Chameides noted the policy change is part of a larger trend by the Trump administration to undermine mail-in voting.

"In 2024, 104,000 mail-in ballots were rejected because they were past the deadline," Chameides reported. "This number is going to soar. It's going to disenfranchise voters who are otherwise following the rules. It's making an artificial rule for them to have to follow that they shouldn't have to."

In the Golden State, 87 percent of ballots arrive by mail. In California, ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and must be received at the county election office within 17 days.