Election officials are raising concerns about the growing number of mail-in ballots reaching election offices after state deadlines, with recent primary results showing a sharp increase in late-ballot rejections as the November midterm elections approach.

Data obtained by The New York Times from 12 states found that ballots arriving too late to be counted represented an increasing portion of rejected mail votes during recent primary elections.

Several of the states included in the data are home to closely contested congressional and statewide races that could play a role in determining which party controls Congress following the November elections.

In Wisconsin, approximately 5,000 mail ballots arrived too late to be counted during the state’s spring primary. Those ballots represented 78% of all rejected mail-in votes.

The numbers marked a significant increase from the comparable 2023 election, when approximately 2,300 late-arriving ballots were rejected, accounting for 47% of discarded mail votes.

Michigan experienced a similar increase during its August primary. More than 10,000 mail ballots arrived after the state’s 8 p.m. Election Day cutoff and were rejected, nearly double the number discarded for arriving late in 2024.

Washington state, meanwhile, recorded more than 20,000 ballots that arrived after the applicable deadline, compared with approximately 16,000 during the comparable previous period.

The U.S. Postal Service says it generally delivers more than 95% of mail ballots on time. Nevertheless, concerns about ballot delivery have increased amid financial pressures, operational changes and reports of slower service in certain parts of the country. The issue is particularly significant in states requiring election officials to receive ballots by Election Day.

“There are any number of factors that may impact the timeliness of a returned ballot,” the Postal Service said in a statement. “As such, our consistent message to voters who choose to vote by mail is to mail early.”

Adding to the concerns is a USPS policy that went into effect in December clarifying how postmarks are assigned. Under the policy, a postmark may indicate the date a piece of mail reaches a processing facility rather than the date a voter actually deposited it in a mailbox.

Election specialists have warned that the difference could become important for ballots sent shortly before Election Day, particularly for voters in rural areas located far from regional postal processing facilities.

Fourteen states currently permit ballots postmarked by Election Day to be received and counted after Election Day. In June, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that federal law does not bar states from providing those post-election grace periods, leaving the policies in place ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms.

Another legal battle centers on an executive order issued by President Donald Trump and a Postal Service regulation requiring states to turn over certain voter information and comply with federal standards governing ballot envelopes.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani temporarily halted the rule Thursday, concluding that states were likely to suffer irreparable harm from requirements that would be practically impossible to put into effect before the midterm elections. A hearing on the dispute is scheduled for Sept. 3, while the administration is appealing the ruling.

Election officials in several states are taking additional steps aimed at reducing the likelihood that mail ballots will arrive too late. Colorado, for example, has expanded the number of ballot drop boxes in the state by 78% since 2018.

Wisconsin officials are similarly advising voters who are concerned about postal delivery times to use ballot drop boxes where available, cast their ballots early or place mail ballots into the postal system well ahead of Election Day.

Washington elections director Stuart Holmes said the concerns are not directed at individual postal workers, but at the reliability of the broader delivery system.

“The Postal Service, these are great people, hard-working people,” Holmes said. “But their operation has become unreliable.

{Matzav.com}