A set of rule changes by the United States Postal Service (USPS) could complicate the November election for voters who mail in their ballots too late.
People who send their ballots by mail on Election Day, and potentially even days before, could risk having their votes not counted in the upcoming November general election due to postmarking delays.
The rule change involves added language around how the USPS postmarks mail. The postmark will now confirm the Postal Service’s possession of the letter or parcel on the date that is printed, but the postmark date “does not inherently or necessarily align with the date on which the Postal Service first accepted possession of a mail piece,” according to a recent news release.
In Washington, ballots must be postmarked no later than Election Day or returned to a ballot drop box by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted. A late postmark could disqualify the ballot.
In the past, some voters were able to mail their ballots on Election Day and still have them counted, but that may no longer be the case this November.
