On Jan. 2, the U.S. Postal Service issued a statement regarding its postmarking practices that may affect the inclusion of vote-by-mail ballots in vote tallies in the March 17 Illinois Primary Election. Illinois vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received with 14 days.
According to the USPS statement, “We have made adjustments to our transportation operations that will result in some mailpieces not arriving at our originating processing facilities on the same day that they are mailed. This means that the date on the postmarks applied at our processing facilities will not necessarily match the date on which the customer’s mailpiece was collected by a letter carrier or dropped off at a retail location.”
The League of Women Voters believes that voting is a fundamental right of citizenship that must be guaranteed. It supports efforts to expand voter registration and access to voting mechanisms, including vote by mail. Therefore we want to alert voters to what they should do to protect their vote by mail ballots:
• Go inside your retail postal site and request that your ballot be manually postmarked.
• Use secure drop boxes where available or return your vote by mail ballot directly to the election authorities office.
• Consider the last day to put your vote-by-mail ballot in the U.S. mail as March 10, 2026.
Barbara Lamb & Curt Hansman
Co-Presidents, League of Women Voters
LaGrange Area
