New U.S. Postal Service Changes Create a Mail-In Ballot Crisis

What the USPS just changed and why it matters for California elections...

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⏱️ 6 min read

What the Postal Service Just Changed

The U.S. Postal Service quietly changed its rules for how and when mail is postmarked. This has direct consequences for mail-in voting. Now, USPS does not guarantee that mail will be postmarked the same day it is put in a mailbox. This is especially important in California, where mail voting is becoming the norm. Instead, mail may get a postmark later, when it is processed at a postal facility.

Many voters have believed that mailing an envelope by the deadline means it will get a same-day postmark. The new rules show that this is no longer a safe assumption. Now, mail dropped off on a certain day might not get a postmark until days later, depending on when it is processed. This timing change is especially important in places where mail ballots are the main way to vote.

This is hugely problematic for states like California that have gone virtually “all in” on mail-in balloting.

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Below the paywall, I break down:

• How the USPS change affects California’s vote-by-mail system

• Why California’s postmark-based rules are now structurally exposed

• How ballots can enter the system after results are known

• What the Supreme Court is weighing — and how it could change everything

• How California officials are likely to respond