Pennsylvania, Michigan election officials recommend voters drop off mail-in ballots
With less than a week to go until Election Day, some top elections officials – including in key battleground states – are recommending voters with mail-in ballots to return them in person.
The U.S. Postal Service released a statement on Tuesday telling voters it was "ready to deliver the nation's election mail" and that for voters with ballots due on Election Day, "it would be a good idea to mail it by this Tuesday, Oct. 29."
With that date now passed, some officials in states where ballots are due on Election Day are asking voters to take charge and hand in their mail ballots themselves.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 32 states require absentee or mail-in ballots to be returned on or before Election Day. Others allow for late delivery as long as ballots are postmarked by Election Day – some require it to be postmarked by the day before.
In the battleground state of Pennsylvania, mail-in ballots cannot be accepted if they arrive after 8 p.m. on Election Day. Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt gave a recommendation Tuesday that did not encourage voters to mail their mail-in ballots.
"At this point, this close to the election, I encourage all voters voting by mail ballot to hand deliver their completed ballots to their county election office or any other official ballot return location designated by their county," Schmidt said.
He is not the only elections official directing voters away from the mail. Schmidt's counterpart in Michigan, another battleground state that requires mail-in ballots be returned on Election Day, issued a similar recommendation Wednesday.
"To avoid any postal delays and to make sure your vote is counted, return your ballot in person to your clerk's office, your nearest dropbox or your early voting site or polling place," Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson posted on X on Oct. 30.
"The USPS is working incredibly hard and is prepared for this election. However, to be absolutely sure your ballot gets to your county's Board of Elections in time, at this point, we're recommending voters bring their mail-in ballots to their local Board of Elections Office (during business hours) or a drop box/Satellite Election Office, if applicable in your county," Lauren Cristella, President and CEO of the Committee of Seventy, said in a statement.
Not every county has a drop box or Satellite Elections Office, so be sure to research your county online and find that information.
Cristella said Pennsylvania voters should know they can track their mail-in ballot through the state's online tracking tool.
Elections officials criticized USPS' handling of election mail in September
While USPS said over 99.7% of mail-in ballots were delivered within five days in 2020, a coalition of state and local elections officials last month warned the agency that postal delays posed a risk of disenfranchising voters.
A letter sent to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy from several members of the National Association of State Election Directors and the National Association of Secretaries of State said the officials had questions over the past year about USPS' ability to deliver election mail on time and accurately.
The election officials wrote in the letter that in nearly every state, some ballots that were postmarked on time were returned after Election Day. The officials added that "dozens to hundreds of ballots" were received at least 10 days after they were postmarked.
"[O]n average, we are currently delivering mail in 2.7 days, which is consistent with our recommendation that, as a common-sense measure, voters should mail their completed ballot before Election Day and at least one week prior to their state's deadline, DeJoy wrote in response.
"Election Mail routinely outperforms our regular service performance due to our long-standing processes and procedures," DeJoy added in the letter.
Your state's Department of State will have more information on drop boxes on its website if they are available. Check out this page from the Election Assistance Commission to get connected to those state election office websites.
If you have a mail ballot in a state that doesn't allow drop boxes, you should mail it as soon as possible. If you are concerned your mail ballot will not arrive in time, some states allow you to vote by provisional ballot, or surrender your mail ballot to vote in person.
