If you live in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Alaska, Texas, Illinois, Mississippi, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York or Massachusetts, the way you vote by mail is changing.

Recently, the United States Postal Service changed how it is handling post marked time sensitive mail. This impacts voting by mail, paying your bills, and filling taxes. 

Vote by mail is already in jeopardy due to the Trump Administration’s effort to restrict it as a method of voting. 

What does postmark mean and what is changing? 

Before, your mail would be postmarked on the date it was dropped off at your local postal facility or mailbox.

Now your mail will not get postmarked until it arrives at your regional processing hub, which could be days later.

This means that if you send out your vote by mail ballot too close to election day, you run the risk of your ballot not being counted by your local election office due to an inaccurate postmark.

How does this impact me?

This impacts anyone who relies on the United States Postal Service for time sensitive mail, particularly voters in the military, overseas, at in rural parts of the country.  And make no mistake, this will hurt Republicans as much as it hurts Democrats, because we all rely on the postal service for basic necessities—in addition to our right to vote.

These are significant changes to voting accessibility during a major election year. Mail voting made up a little more than 30 percent of voter turnout in the 2024 election.

Every vote counts.

Kaya ngayon ano?

This year the U.S. Supreme Court is going to be hearing a case from Mississippi that is challenging the grace periods for ballot arrival. The outcome would determine whether states can continue to count ballots that are postmarked before or on election day but arrive after election day.

If you are planning to vote by mail, request your ballot as early as possible.

In the meantime, make sure that you send out any time sensitive mail at least a week before the due date to ensure it arrives on time to its destination.

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