U.S. Senators for Oregon Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden are warning that a U.S. Postal Service rule update on postmarks could impact the counting of mail-in ballots.
The change clarifies that postmarks may reflect when mail reaches a processing center, not when it’s dropped off. This raises concerns in states like Oregon, which relies on vote-by-mail and on postmark deadlines.
In a letter sent to Postmaster General David Steiner, Sen. Merkley and California’s Sen. Alex Padilla say this could disproportionately affect rural voters and lead to more rejected ballots.
USPS insists nothing has changed operationally, and says the update is purely educational. But state and federal officials say the risk to vote-by-mail is real.
The above summarizes KOIN’s Jan. 16 article, “Merkley, Wyden raise concerns USPS postmark rule could threaten mail-in voting” by Michaela Bourgeois.