A new U.S. Postal Service rule on how your mail is handled could affect your mail that is dependent on time-sensitive deliveries, including your tax returns, insurance claims and ballots.
The rule, which went into effect on Christmas Eve, defines the meaning of a postmark, the date printed or stamped on most mailed items. In the past, the postmark generally indicated the date the USPS received the item. Now, it will explicitly mean the date that the USPS processes (postmark stamps) the item.
The update “does not change any existing postal operations or postmarking practices, but is instead intended to improve public understanding of postmarks and their relationship to the date of mailing,” the new Postal Service rule reads.
While it seems like a small tweak, the rule raises major questions for legal and administrative systems that rely on postmarks to indicate when something was mailed.
One example: mail-in ballots. In Colorado, postmarks do not count with mail-in ballots. Mailed ballots must be received by the county clerk and recorder no later than 7:00 PM on Election Day. Voters are encouraged to drop off ballots at designated drop off locations, drop-box locations, or mail their ballots in time to be received by the county clerk before the polls close. Again, postmarks do not count; ballots must be in the hands of the county clerk by 7:00 PM on Election Day in order to be counted. Drop-box locations are open and are under video surveillance 24/7. A bi-partisan team of election judges will regularly retrieve ballots from the drop-box locations to be sent to the central counting location in the county for processing.
In states such as California and Nevada however, ballots need to be postmarked by Election Day to be counted, otherwise they will be late and not included. In the past, voters could usually expect a postmark on their ballot the same day they dropped it off. But new, longer transit distances for your mail could mean more time between dropping a ballot off at the post office and receiving a postmark — and possibly the difference between your vote counting and missing the deadline.
The beleaguered postal system is undergoing a broad reorganization, including the consolidation of nearly 200 sectional facilities – where mail is typically postmarked – into 60 regional processing locations, which are likely to receive fewer truck dropoffs per day.
More than 70% of post offices will now be more than 50 miles away from a regional processing center, according to an analysis from the Brookings Institution. More than 25% of post offices will be 150 miles or more away.
For mail senders, there are ways to ensure your ballot and tax documents are in compliance with deadlines. The IRS permits private carriers like FedEx or UPS to deliver your documents.
But not all election boards make the same allowances, so be sure to check your state and local rules. The USPS recommends bringing any mail items that need a day-of postmark to a staffed retail location and asking for a free, manual postmark. Remember however, that with the cutbacks being implemented those lines are going to be looonnngggg and those workers are going to be grossly overworked.
Long story short – DON’T put that tax return or mail-in ballot in your roadside mailbox or blue street corner mailbox and be under the false impression that it will be postmark stamped that day. To make sure it isn’t late, either walk it into a post office and ask for it to be hand-stamped OR otherwise, if you do drop important documents in the mailbox, be sure to do it well before your deadline.
Heed This New Postmark Rule – It Could Affect Your Tax Return, Mail-In Ballot, and Other Time Sensitive Mailings
