SEATTLE — State election officials are urging voters to avoid mailing their ballots at the last minute this election cycle, warning that new U.S. Postal Service (USPS) policies could cause some votes to go uncounted if mailed after Oct. 30.
Under updated USPS guidelines, mail may not be postmarked the day that it is picked up by the carrier. As Election Day nears, this may pose a problem for many voters attempting to return their completed ballots.
Washington’s Secretary of State’s office is now urging voters to return their ballots through other methods available, if they have not returned their ballot already.
“Given the operational and logistical priorities recently set by the USPS, we cannot guarantee that ballots returned via mail during that timeframe will be postmarked by the deadline,” the office said. “We are fortunate to have an 18-day voting period and to have developed the infrastructure to have several convenient ballot return options available to voters.”
In 2020, the USPS recommended mail-in ballots be put in mailboxes 15 days before the election. That was reduced to one week in 2024.
Ballot return boxes are a reliable way to return completed ballots. A list of all Washington’s drop boxes and voting center locations is available here.
The office told We that those wishing to return their ballot by mail can also take their completed ballot to a local USPS location and request staff to “hand-stamp the postmark on it.”
트위터 공유: USPS 새 정책으로 투표용지 미개봉 우려 경고