USPS: Voters Should Mail Ballots By Tuesday For Delivery By Election Day

A voter puts a ballot into a mailbox in October 2020 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is one of the states that will only count mail-in ballots if they’re delivered by Election Day. (Susan Vineyard/Adobe Stock)

The U.S. Postal Service told voters in a release Monday that if their mail-in ballots must be delivered by Election Day, they should mail them by Tuesday, Oct. 29.

“We continue to recommend that it is a good common-sense measure for voters who choose to mail in their ballots to do so before Election Day and at least a week before their election office needs to receive them,” the Postal Service said in a statement.

Most states will only count ballots if the election office receives them by the close of the polls on Election Day. However, a handful of states will still count ballots received after Election Day as long as they are postmarked by that date, with the deadlines ranging from a few days to two weeks after Election Day. 

States that accept ballots received after Election Day, like Illinois, North Dakota and Pennsylvania have faced legal challenges from Republicans, but they have been unsuccessful. 

Also, on Nevada on Monday, the state Supreme Court upheld the state’s policy of counting mail-in ballots without postmarks received up to three days after Election Day this November. 

Meanwhile, in a Mississippi case, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the ballot receipt deadline violates federal law, but the district court will decide what deadline to enforce in the state for the 2024 election. If the issue reaches the U.S. Supreme Court, a decision could have nationwide implications for voters.

The Postal Service provided its recommendation to voters this week because they “anticipate an uptick of ballots in the mail over the coming days,” and told voters to not delay putting their ballot in the mail because “every day counts.”

In its release, the Post Service made the disclaimer that “even for return ballots that are entered in our system after Tuesday, we will continue to deploy our ‘extraordinary measures,’ which are designed to accelerate the delivery of Ballot Mail in the final weeks of the election season.”

These extraordinary measures, which were implemented last week, include extra deliveries and collections, special pick-ups, specialized sort plans at processing facilities to expedite delivery to boards of elections, and local handling and transportation of ballots.

As Election Day approaches, the Postal Service said there are no “major reported disruptions” and the country’s postal system continues to operate effectively.

Read the U.S. Postal Service release here.

See when ballots are due in your state here.

Learn more about ballot receipt deadline cases here.