Late-Postmark Ballot Rejections Soar in Washington and Oregon

Newly released data show ballots rejected for late postmarks surged in Washington and Oregon after Postal Service consolidation changes, alarming election officials.

Newly released data show the number of ballots rejected for late postmarks has soared in Washington and Oregon, two states that vote entirely or mostly by mail. Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read told a news conference that more Oregonians had their voices go unheard simply because their ballots couldn't make it through the mail in time, calling the situation unacceptable. The figures arrive ahead of this fall's pivotal midterm election and compound worries about the future of mail voting in Western states.

US senators and election officials had warned for months that USPS consolidation could delay the application of postmarks — even on ballots mailed on or before Election Day — and the new numbers suggest those warnings are being borne out, with thousands of voters' ballots rejected during this year's primaries. Adding irony, AP reports that two rural Washington counties that reliably backed President Trump saw more than 4% of all ballots cast rejected for late postmarks, and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington said it was ironic the changes might disenfranchise some of Trump's most stable supporters.

In Oregon, 7,714 ballots that arrived during the weeklong grace period for the May primary were not counted because they were postmarked after Election Day — a rejection rate of 13%, up from 9.5% two years earlier, Read said. In Washington, late-postmarked ballots totaled 20,267 in this year's primary, up from 16,131 in 2024, even as drop box use increased. In Stevens County, Auditor Lori Larsen said her office received a haul of 557 late-postmarked ballots on Aug.

The Postal Service has been consolidating operations around regional hubs to save billions of dollars. In December it finalized a rule clarifying that postmarks don't necessarily reflect the date the agency first took possession of mail, but rather the day it was handled at a processing center — which, after consolidation, is increasingly far from certain communities. Since last year, USPS policy has also dictated that mail is transported only once a day, rather than twice, from post offices or collection boxes more than 50 miles from a distribution center.

In conservative Yakima County, Washington, nearly 4.4% of all ballots cast in the primary were rejected for late postmarks, and County Auditor Charles Ross said local mail now travels to a processing center in Spokane — about 200 miles away — before returning. He warned that a rural voter's ballot dropped three days before the election may be treated differently than the same ballot from Seattle or Spokane. Larsen's office is rushing to double its secure drop boxes from five to ten, and Read is asking Oregon lawmakers for emergency funding to install 20 new drop boxes.

In a written statement, the Postal Service acknowledged that changes in how it transports mail could result in postmarking delays. It noted voters can go to a post office and request a manual postmark free of charge, and said its consistent message to mail voters is to mail ballots early — at least one week before they are due. Washington's secretary of state has spent about $300,000 this year reimbursing counties for adding 21 drop boxes, and both states are pushing ahead with drop box expansion before the general election.