Relying on the mail close to Election Day now carries a new risk for many voters, late USPS postmarks that can lead to rejected ballots.
The risk stems from mailing system changes that began last year. Those shifts have prompted some election officials to urge voters to return ballots directly to their local election office or to use any available drop boxes instead.
The push to avoid mailboxes comes as confidence in on-time delivery of election mail has slipped, and after an effort by President Trump to limit voting by mail for the midterms was blocked by the Supreme Court.
Election officials often rely on the date stamped by the Postal Service to determine whether a ballot was sent by Election Day.
About a week before next month’s Election Day, the Postal Service says it will introduce special postmarking procedures at post offices affected by the changes as part of its extraordinary measures to bolster service for federal general elections.
Still, the agency advises voters to mail ballots at least a week before their state’s deadline. In states that allow a grace period for receiving ballots after Election Day, USPS recommends visiting a post office to request a manual postmark to ensure the ballot is dated the day it is mailed.
USPS postmarks and Election Day timing
How mailing system changes led to the risk of late postmarks
Since April 2025, USPS has been implementing reductions to daily mail pickups and processing adjustments at certain post offices, especially in rural areas. The effort, called Regional Transportation Optimization, is part of a 10-year reorganization launched in 2021 to stabilize the agency’s finances.
Because of these changes, USPS may not automatically apply a date stamp the same day an envelope is collected by a carrier, dropped in a blue box, or brought to a post office.
As part of its extraordinary measures for these midterms, USPS has directed post offices affected by RTO to separate returned ballots from other mail starting Oct. 26 so managers can manually postmark ballots on the day they are collected.
That system was not used during this year’s primaries, which saw higher ballot rejection rates in multiple states.
Elena Patel, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, said she is encouraged by USPS steps planned in the coming weeks to address late postmarks.
But Patel added that the situation remains risky for voters because it is unclear how post offices will implement the directives for the first time, particularly where staffing is tight.
For the general election, an additional 43,000 to 55,000 ballots nationwide could be rejected for arriving late due to RTO, according to a new analysis by Patel, produced before USPS finalized its extraordinary measures.
“These are some of the realities of running a very large postal network on tight finances,” Patel said, noting her prior experience as an economist at the Postal Regulatory Commission.
USPS plans to take other “extraordinary measures” for mail-in ballots
USPS has outlined other extraordinary measures:
- Starting Oct. 24, 10 days before Election Day, some post offices may extend hours by 30 minutes and create lines or drive-through lanes for voters seeking a manual postmark for their ballot.
- Beginning Oct. 26, USPS plans to accelerate ballot delivery.
When asked why extraordinary measures do not begin 15 days before Election Day, as in 2024 and 2022, USPS said the timing is set based on internal factors and noted it has reliably delivered election mail for more than 150 years and is confident it will do so again.
Still, some voters who rely on mail voting face tough choices navigating the mailing system, said Michelle Sparck, director of Get Out the Native Vote, a voter education group in Alaska.
No post offices in Alaska are affected by RTO, but Sparck, a member of the Qissunamiut Tribe of Chevak, said she has seen many absentee voters in Alaska Native villages have ballots rejected, often due to postmarking delays, which she worries could discourage future participation.
“The No. 1 reason for that was postmarking delays. Now, even on a good Alaskan day with no weather challenges, it doesn’t mean we’re going to have an operational post office on a business day during business hours,” Sparck said. “It’s always, always easier said than done to kind of go along with the system’s rules. But the system doesn’t exactly work for us.”
For now, Sparck is urging eligible voters to make a plan to vote in October instead of waiting until Election Day in November if possible.
“If there is an early voting opportunity in a community,” Sparck said, “we’re asking people to drop their ballots off with those folks so that it becomes part of the chain of custody.”
After an effort by President Trump to limit voting by mail for the midterms was blocked by the Supreme Court, disputes over election messaging have intensified, including lawsuits such as DNC sues Trump over $20M in taxpayer-funded midterm ads.
For more information on voting by mail and election mail guidelines, voters can consult the official U.S. Postal Service website.
