Washington officials urge use of ballot drop boxes amid mail delays
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A King County election worker opens ballot envelopes in August 2020. Photo: Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images
Washington election officials are telling voters to bypass the mailbox in this year's vote-by-mail election, citing delays caused by the U.S. Postal Service.
Why it matters: A higher share of mail-in ballots were rejected because of late postmarks in the state's August primary, prompting officials to remind voters to use ballot drop boxes to ensure their votes are counted.
By the numbers: The share of Washington ballots rejected because of late postmarks rose to 1.1% in this year's primary election, up from 0.8% in 2024, according to data from the secretary of state's office.
Under Washington law, mailed ballots are counted based on the day they are postmarked, not the day they are received.
State of play: Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell have attributed the rise in late-postmarked ballots to new Postal Service practices.
- Changes to the agency's transportation operations last year have caused some mail to take longer to reach mail processing facilities, delaying postmarks in some cases.
- The new system makes it more likely that mail will be postmarked on a different day than it's mailed, the agency says.
What they're saying: Cantwell said the changes are disenfranchising voters, particularly in rural communities located far from mail processing centers.
- "Ballots that voters believed they had mailed in time were rejected because they lacked a timely, verifiable postmark, or arrived too late to be counted," Cantwell said at a press conference earlier this month.
Voters can still take their ballot to a post office and ask a worker to postmark it by hand to ensure a same-day postmark, the Postal Service says.
- That may involve waiting in line, though.
Zoom in: King County officials have doubled down on directing people to ballot drop boxes since last year's mail service changes, King County Elections spokesperson Halei Watkins told Axios.
- If voters must vote by mail, they should fill out their ballot and mail it back as soon as they receive it, Watkins said.
Last year's changes to mail delivery are separate from President Trump's March 31 executive order on mail-in voting, which Washington and other states continue to fight in court.
What's next: Ballots for the fall election will be mailed to registered voters in Washington in mid-October.