Here's a hearty reminder if you have a mail-in ballot: it's got just over a week to reach the Osceola County Supervisor of Elections Office.
The U.S. Postal Service recently held a briefing on its Election Mail processes and procedures to reiterate its commitment to the secure and timely delivery of ballots.
“The Postal Service is confident and ready to deliver a successful Election Mail season,” said Postmaster General David Steiner. “[W]e share a common goal: instilling confidence in all Americans that their Election Mail will be handled securely – and delivered reliably."
Adrienne Marshall, director of Election and Government Mail Services at the Postal Service added, “Our Postal Service employees are diligently working to process and deliver ballots on time, and we ask that voters do their part and mail early.” The organization’s long-standing recommendation is that domestic non-military voters mail their completed ballots BEFORE Election Day, and AT LEAST ONE WEEK before they must be received by their election office." (Which is by 7 p.m. on Nov. 3, the election day)
Voters can ensure that their completed ballot-return envelope receives a postmark, and that the date on the postmark aligns with the date of mailing, by bringing the ballot to a Postal Service retail location and requesting a manual postmark at the retail counter when dropping it off. Manual postmarks are applied free of charge.
For the 2024 General Election, the Postal Service delivered 99.6% of ballots from voters to election officials within three days, as reported in its 2024 Post-Election Analysis.
The Postal Service deploys specific Election Mail processes and procedures all year long. In the final weeks of the election season, USPS also implements extraordinary measures to swiftly move ballot mail that is entered close to when it must be received by the local election office. This year, extraordinary measures begin Saturday, Oct. 24, and will continue through the last day in each state that their boards of elections will accept completed mail-in ballots as timely. The extraordinary measures are designed to accelerate and enhance the delivery of ballot mail, when the Postal Service is able to identify the mailpiece as a ballot. The Postal Service’s extraordinary measures include but are not limited to:
• Extra deliveries and collections
• Special pick-ups
• Specialized sort plans at processing facilities to expedite delivery to boards of elections
• Localized handling and transportation of ballots.
The Postal Service meets regularly with stakeholders across the Election Mail landscape to educate them on postal procedures and guidance, including local, state and federal election officials; postal unions and management associations; federal agencies and Congress, the mailing industry; and nongovernmental organizations.
