USPS Changes Postmark Rules Affect Mail In Ballots, other Time-sensitive mailings.

USPS CHANGES POSTMARK RULES AFFECT MAIL IN BALLOTS

Beginning in 2026, the USPS has instituted a new rule that the postmark will

now reflect the date an envelope is first processed by an automated USPS

sorting machine.

This would mean that the postmark could come days

after it was dropped off, rather than on the actual drop-off date.

Why does this matter? We can no longer assume that a letter would be

postmarked the day that it arrives at the post office. Mail that relies on

postmark dates for deadlines can be impacted by later postmarks, and that

means we risk late fees, penalties, or delinquency. This includes tax filings,

payments, charitable contributions, legal filings, rent payments, and MAIL IN

BALLOTS.

Time-sensitive mail such as ABSENTEE/MAIL IN BALLOTS should be

mailed several days before the deadline

. Alternatively, people can still go

inside their local post office and ask for a hand-stamped “manual postmark”

on the date, or use certified mail. But simply dropping a letter in the mailbox

and expecting it to be postmarked that day will no longer work.