US EditionThousands of Mail-in Ballots Could Be Discounted Under New Post Office Policy
The USPS now postmarks mail based on regional processing dates, affecting ballots and other deadline-sensitive items and prompting officials to advise manual postmarks or counter drop-offs.
- Under new USPS guidance that took effect last month, the United States Postal Service tied postmark dates to when mail is first processed at automated regional sorting facilities rather than mailbox drop dates.
- Many Americans had long assumed deadline mail would be postmarked the day it was mailed, and state election officials updated guidance after noticing discrepancies in recent years.
- For ballots and other deadline mail, processing delays can mean rejection despite timely mailing, and fourteen states offer postmark grace periods while most require ballots by Election Day.
- The Postal Service urges anyone with deadline-sensitive mail to visit a post office counter and ask for a manual postmark, while Martha Johnson, Postal Service spokesperson, said the guidance does not signal a change and officials warn it increases pressure on election workers.
- Legal and political battles over mail-in voting continue amid President Donald Trump's efforts to curtail the practice, while health care advocates warn the change affects Medicare notices and prior authorizations.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Mail-in voting faces new hurdle as postal service formalizes postmark practice
Guidelines announced on Dec. 24 allow postmarks to reflect processing date rather than mailing date, affecting 14 states with grace periods for late-arriving ballots, including Massachusetts.
Anchorage Daily News
Thousands of mail-in ballots could be discounted under new post office policy
The Postal Service is no longer guaranteeing when it will postmark mail, which could jeopardize some ballots that arrive after Election Day.
USPS Postmark Change Raises New Risks for Voters and Patients
USPS has changed its guidance on postmarks, now reflecting the date the mail is first processed at an automated sorting facility, which can occur days after the item is mailed, potentially causing serious consequences for millions of Americans who rely on postmarks to meet legal deadlines. The post USPS Postmark Change Raises New Risks for Voters and Patients appeared first on The Washington Informer.
USPS Says Mail-In Ballots Might Not Get Postmark on Same Day They’re Dropped Off
The U.S. Postal Service has adopted a new rule that could create doubt about whether some ballots mailed by voters by Election Day will receive postmarks in time to be counted. A USPS rule that took effect on Dec. 24 says mail might not receive a postmark on the same day the agency takes possession of it. Continue reading USPS Says Mail-In Ballots Might Not Get Postmark on Same Day They’re Dropped Off at Royal Examiner.
USPS changes postmark process; date will reflect first sorting machine scan
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service is making a change to its postmark process in the new year. The Post Office said mail will no longer be postmarked when it is accepted but instead will reflect the date the envelope is first processed by an automated sorting machine. That process may happen days later and […] The post USPS changes postmark process; date will reflect first sorting machine scan appeared first on Stuttgart Daily Leader.
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