USPS Must Change Postmark Date Back to Date Mailed, Not Date Processed

The USPS has changed the definition of "postmark date" this week, and this decision could adversely affect millions of Americans. The postmark date used to be the date something was dropped in a mailbox, and now it will be defined as the date a piece of mail first passes through an automated processing center; this could be up to two days after it gets dropped off. This could potentially impact insurance payments and applications, healthcare appeals, Medicaid applications, election ballots, and much much more. Anything that is deadline-based is traditionally tied to the postmark date, and now that the marker has quietly been shifted, insurance coverage may lapse, healthcare appeals may get denied, and ballots may not get counted in elections. I ask that Congress demand the USPS change the postmark date back to the date a piece of mail is dropped in a mailbox, not the date it gets processed.