USPS announces changes to the postmark date system
nstp.org
nstp.org
As the linked PDF explains, this is not a change to the postmark date system. It's an acknowledgement that the date on the postmark may not be the date that you dropped the letter into a (possibly unattended) mailbox. This has always been true, because the stamping is not done until USPS actually processes the letter. USPS has no knowledge of when the letter physically "entered USPS custody" by being dropped in the mailbox, so the postmark has never accurately reflected that instant.
This rule does not change when postmarks are applied, and it doesn't change how any other parties make decisions based on postmarks. It merely documents the postmarking process that has existed basically forever.
> This discrepancy is expected to become more common due to the implementation of the "Regional Transportation Optimization" (RTO) initiative and the adoption of "leg-based" service standards.
> This change in USPS processes will have a potentially significant impact on tax filings.
Basically, a large chunk of mailboxes across the country will no longer have evening collection, so unless you drop off your mail very early in the morning it will be processed and postmarked at minimum 1+ day later.
And reading between the lines USPS is telling you (and everyone else, including other government agencies) that the postmark is for their internal business use and you should not try to derive any meaning from it.
This can be tricky. For example, at the Stanford post office, the drop boxes outside the post office have Saturday pickup times, but the ones inside the building do not (the signs inside warn about this).
That’s counterintuitive though. I can see why people miss the sign.
I'd expect 2 drop boxes near the same location would naturally be picked up at the same time.
But it’s weird for a pleb to look at a box directly outside an office and assume that office isn’t responsible for that box. Outside a corner coffee shop, sure, but I can see the post office, it’s right there.
Not every location offers the same services. It's part of life. The complaining here is coming across as very privileged whining. Do you wish to speak to a manager?
This is feeling like a work argument where the apologists are trying to block UX of DX improvements due to contempt for the people it’ll help and I am full up at the moment. Argue with yourself, I’m out.
well, if there's some "not reading" happening, it's you with the the rest of the comments upstream stating there is signage that clearly states there is no Saturday pickup.
The same kind of mailbox was sometimes used for bid submissions in tenders, to prove whether an offer was submitted before or after the deadline.
Since then, I pay electronically. Never again.
Your return is considered filed on time if your envelope is properly addressed, postmarked and deposited in the mail by the due date.
Request a Manual Postmark: Customers may present a mail piece at a retail counter and request a "manual (local) postmark". This postmark is applied at the time of acceptance, so the date aligns with the date the USPS took possession.
I should have said manual postmark but it’s what I implied. They’re stamping or postmarking it with a date manually.
The instant in time at which your letter is technically "received" by the USPS, in the sense of them having physical possession, has never mattered for any legal purposes whatsoever. That's because in many cases, there is absolutely no physical proof of exactly what instant in time that event happened.
Electoral rules aren't written based on when the USPS received your ballot, because that's typically unprovable. They're either based on when the ballot was delivered to the election office, or when the ballot was postmarked. The postmarking may happen at some point while the piece of mail is in USPS custody, or it may not happen at all if you don't specifically ask for it.
The rules are based on the postmark date because the postmark date is the only available documentary evidence of the date of mailing.
Again, this is not a change in policy, it's merely documenting the way the mail system has always worked.
Has anyone challenged their ballot being rejected by producing video showing them putting the ballot in an envelope and putting said envelope in a mailbox?
Perhaps ironically, video evidence has been used to invalidate ballots. In 2023, a CT judge invalidated the results of the Democratic primary, finding "ballot stuffing" in that 1,253 absentee ballots were submitted at Bridgeport dropboxes despite surveillance video only showing 420 people using the boxes. A new Democratic primary was ordered. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023%E2%80%9324_Bridgeport,_Co...
Now there isn’t. Except I doubt that many people will actually know about the change/clarification so they’ll continue to mail ballots and taxes at the last second.
In a sane world, anything mailed “close enough” would be accepted. Or there’d be an explict 5-day grace period.
In states that require a postmark by Election Day to count a ballot received later, the operational reality of postmarking creates a chaotic environment where timely votes could be disqualified, or conversely, creates ambiguity about when a ballot actually entered the system.
It is unreasonable to expect every mail-in voter to stand in line at a post office to get a manual stamp to prove they voted on time. If the standard automated system cannot guarantee an accurate date, as this rule admits, then using that system for critical constitutional functions like voting is inherently flawed.
https://old.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/1puwkpj/democrats...
https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/06/26/behind-trump... ("Most adults who were eligible to vote in 2020 – but declined to do so – stayed home again in 2024. But among those who did turn out, Trump had the edge. Among all 2020 nonvoters (including those who were too young and ineligible to vote in 2020), 14% supported Trump in 2024 while 12% supported Harris.")
Trump wants to stop states from voting by mail and using voting machines - https://www.npr.org/2025/08/18/nx-s1-5506210/trump-mail-in-b... - August 19th, 2025
> "We're going to start with an executive order that's being written right now by the best lawyers in the country to end mail-in ballots because they're corrupt," Trump said later Monday, during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House. "And it's time that the Republicans get tough and stop it because the Democrats want it. It's the only way they can get elected."
> Although Trump himself urged his supporters to vote using mail ballots prior to the 2024 election, Democrats have been significantly more likely to vote using mail-in ballots, compared to Republicans, since the 2020 election. That gap has only gotten wider in recent elections as GOP-led states have passed more restrictions on this method of voting.
> But legal experts say Trump does not have the legal authority to tell states how to run their elections.
As the saying goes, "Every accusation is a confession."
"people who might not otherwise be able to win" would mean that without this rule change, the current admin would not have been able to win. that's clearly not true. all this does, as you suggest, makes it harder for their opposition to use a valid means of voting.
I've had mail collected from my box that wasn't marked until two days later, this feels like it's just attempting to explain why.
But if I missed something more nefarious I'm interested to hear.
Also as a slight bit of victim blaming, why would you not drop something of this importance and time sensitive directly into a more controlled drop off?
In some places I'm sure there will be ICE deployed to make sure nobody who doesn't look American enough will need to prove they are American before they can vote. In their place I would suggest mailing it early to make sure the vote is counted.
It does. I live on a rural route and as far as I can tell it doesn't get postmarked until it actually processes through the closest city's PO. They get backed up sometimes, I guess?
> Also as a slight bit of victim blaming, why would you not drop something of this importance and time sensitive directly into a more controlled drop off?
It wasn't anything that important - I think it was either a holiday or birthday card. The only reason I knew at all is because the recipient didn't get it until about 7 days later and told me when it was postmarked.
When exactly it was collected is the point - was it on the same day you mailed it or the next?
That was just one I happened to catch because it arrived late, for all I know it happens with every piece of mail.
"Potential Delays: Because most postmarks are applied at processing facilities, the date inscribed may be later than the date the mail piece was first accepted by the USPS. This discrepancy is expected to become more common due to the implementation of the "Regional Transportation Optimization" (RTO) initiative and the adoption of "leg-based" service standards."