October 21, 2024
Do you have a mail in or absentee ballot sitting in your house waiting to be filled out? If so – the United States Postal Service says you better get it done and get it in the mail asap even though USPS says starting today it’s implementing “extraordinary measures”. I’ll explain that means in a second.
But first – let’s clear this up. Mail in and absentee ballots are completely legal, safe and have been successfully used in elections for decades. Second – the United States constitution says every single state has the right to conduct its election in the way it sees fit – that includes the individual state rules surrounding who can get an absentee ballot or whether mail-in ballots are available and specifically how and when you’re supposed to return that ballot. So you need to check with your state to figure out the best way for you to return your completed mail in or absentee ballot so it can be counted.
But generally all states allow those ballots to be put in mail and handled by the United States Postal Service. USPS says in 2020 and 2022 they successfully delivered “historic” volumes of ballots. It says in 2020 the postal service delivered 99.89% of ballots to election officials within seven days and in 2022 they delivered 99.93% of ballots to elections officials in 7 days.
Starting today – the post office is implementing what it calls extraordinary measures. That means the USPS will make additional deliveries and collections to ensure timely delivery of ballots. You will also see early collections on November 2nd, 4th and 5th with special runs to boards of elections in your area on those days. Postmasters will also arrange for after-hours handoffs with boards of elections and will be utilizing the express mail network for completed ballots. Your local postal carrier will start to check every residential mailbox for outgoing ballots starting. And USPS will ensure that your ballot receives a post mark asap especially since every state has different rules about when your ballot must be postmarked in order for it to be counted. You may also notice a special ballot drop off line at your local post office.
Bottom line – we are 15 days away from election day. Some states require your mail in ballot to have a post mark up to 10 days before the election if you want it to be counted. So your time is running out. If you don’t have it done in time to put it in the mail, some states have ballot drop boxes, and other states require you to hand walk the ballot into your election headquarters so it can be counted.
Read more about USPS election “extraordinary measures” here.
Read more about election mail here.
