Change in US Postal Service postmarks:

[applegrove]

this seems specifically designed to break mail-in voting (where deadlines are defined by postmark)

— shauna (@goldengateblond.bsky.social) 2025-12-29T21:51:49.885Z

[Irish_Dem]

1. They can sit on mail in ballots from liberal areas for months.

[unblock]

2. Rotten enough once everyone knows the new process.

But this will burn people who are caught unaware for years.

Not just elections. Also tax filings, estimated payments, etc.

[UTUSN]

3. K&R

[Cha]

4. More Bullshit Aimed at the American

People by Putin's neo nazi boys.

[no_hypocrisy]

5. Essentially meaning that you should mail the payment to your bills

and vote-by-mail the day after you receive them.

[sl8]

6. Or, elect to have them postmarked when you mail them.

Ensuring a Postmark on the Date of Delivery: To assure a postmark is applied on the same day a document is delivered to the USPS, individuals must utilize specific retail services. The final rule outlines the following methods:

- Request a Manual Postmark: Customers may present a mail piece at a retail counter and request a "manual (local) postmark". This postmark is applied at the time of acceptance, so the date aligns with the date the USPS took possession.

- Postage Validation Imprint (PVI): When a customer pays for postage at a retail counter, the PVI label applied by the employee also indicates the date of acceptance.

- Certificates of Mailing: Customers may purchase a Certificate of Mailing, or use Registered or Certified Mail, to obtain a receipt that serves as evidence of the date the item was presented for mailing

[onenote]

7. I get anything time-sensitive postmarked at the post office

Apparently that still will be effective.
Its a bit of a pain in the ass, but as it currently stands, I have no idea as to how long it will be from the time something picked up by my local delivery person gets to the post office and is postmarked, assuming it even gets there at all.

[Takket]

8. there is literally no reason to do this other than to undermine voting

Lawsuits should be filed on behalf of postal customers to stop this.

In the meantime, states should do everything they can to inform their voters of this treachery and advise them if they want to mail their ballots, they should do so at least 2 weeks before the election.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

9. Election Law Blog-"Postmark change could impact getting ballots, bills in on time"

Prof. Hasen thinks that this change will affect vote by mail ballots.

“Postmark change could impact getting ballots, bills in on time” electionlawblog.org?p=153676

— Rick Hasen (@rickhasen.bsky.social) 2026-01-01T17:25:38.079Z

https://electionlawblog.org/?p=153676

USA Today:

The U.S. Postal Service is making new changes in 2026, including adjustments to the postmark process, which could result in late fees and penalties for anyone mailing time-sensitive documents such as tax returns or bill payments.

For decades, the postmark – an official mark that shows where and when mail was accepted by the Postal Service – has been used in law as proof that an individual met a deadline, such as submitting a ballot by Election Day.

A USPS postmark used to indicate the date when mail was dropped in a mailbox or submitted at the post office counter. Now, USPS is clarifying in a new rule that the postmark will reflect the date an envelope is first processed by an automated USPS sorting machine, potentially days after it was dropped off – not the actual drop-off date….

For a long time, Americans have assumed that mail will be postmarked the day it is mailed and may not be prepared to account for the extra days.

Tax payments, charitable contributions, legal filings, rent payments and other bills or items that rely on postmark dates for deadlines can be impacted by later postmarks and risk late fees, penalties, or delinquency.

Many states also accept ballots that are postmarked by Election Day….