Each state establishes by law the rules and requirements for ballot submission, including ballot-submission deadlines and the role, if any, that postmarks play in determining whether a ballot was timely. Our general recommendation to election officials is that, as a common-sense measure, they encourage domestic, nonmilitary voters to mail their completed ballot before Election Day, and at least one week prior to the deadline by which their completed ballot must be received by the election office. In the normal course of operations, the Postal Service does not postmark, or “cancel” every piece of mail in the system. However, the Postal Service tries to ensure that every return Ballot Mail envelope sent by voters receives a postmark, whether the return envelope is mailed with postage pre-paid by election officials or with a stamp affixed by the voter.
Also, while our postmarking practices have not changed, we have made adjustments to our transportation operations that will result in some mailpieces not arriving at our originating processing facilities on the same day that they are mailed. Because postmarks are generally applied at those processing facilities, this means that the date on the postmarks applied at those facilities may not necessarily match the date of mailing.
A voter can ensure that a postmark is applied to his or her return Ballot Mail envelope, and that the date on the postmark matches the date of mailing, by visiting a Postal Service retail location and requesting a manual (local) postmark at the retail counter when dropping off the mailpiece for mailing. Manual postmarks will be applied free of charge.
For more information on our postmarking practices, review the fact sheet included on page 29 of this kit or DMM 608.11.0: Postmarks and Postal Possession, on Postal Explorer at https://pe.usps.gov/text/dmm300/608.htm#11.0.
Figures 1, 2, and 3
Sample Postmarks (Images not to scale)
