Demand USPS Restore Real-Time Postmarks to Protect Vote-by-Mail

I urge you to advocate for the United States Postal Service (USPS) to immediately restore real-time postmarks to ensure vote-by-mail access for all Americans. The USPS service slowdown in 2025 has created a crisis: mail dropped in blue boxes or handed to carriers before election deadlines no longer receives timely postmarks, risking legally cast ballots. This issue stems from former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's Regional Transportation Optimization plan initiated in 2024. It centralized mail processing to large regional hubs, often located far from local communities. As a result, ballots dropped at post offices or blue boxes nationwide are no longer processed locally, leading to significant delays in postmarking. Timely postmarks are essential as election officials rely on them to verify that ballots were mailed on time. Delayed postmarks create confusion regarding deadlines for voters who followed proper procedures and open the door to ballot rejection, legal challenges, and potential manipulation after Election Day. Unscrupulous actors might seek to discredit ballots based on processing delays instead of actual voter actions. Rural voters and those living far away from processing centers are particularly vulnerable, including seniors, veterans, and those without easy access to in-person voting. Both parties depend on timely postmarks to ensure their votes count, making this a nonpartisan issue affecting constituents across the political spectrum. Public pressure has previously proven effective in influencing USPS. Congress has intervened in past elections to protect election mail, and advocacy efforts have led to pauses on harmful administrative changes. I urge you to take swift action to require USPS to restore real-time postmarks and protect the integrity of vote-by-mail for your constituents.