Postal Service Pickup Cuts Threaten Rural Mail Ballots as Georgia Opens Early Voting on October 13

Election officials in several states are telling voters to mail ballots early this year because of a change in how the US Postal Service moves mail. Under its Regional Transportation Optimization plan, USPS cut collection times at more than 15,000 post offices that are more than 50 miles from a regional processing centre. Mail dropped at those offices may not be postmarked until the next day. In states that count ballots only if postmarked by Election Day, that delay can decide whether a vote counts.

The evidence so far

Oregon, which votes almost entirely by mail, was part of the USPS pilot. The Postal Service’s own inspector general found service declined and complaints rose. In the May 2026 primary more than 7,300 Oregon ballots were rejected for late postmarks, a rate reported at 13%, up from 9.5% in 2024. Oregon has added 20 drop boxes to its more than 320.

In Washington, late-postmark rejections rose more than 300% in some counties between the 2024 and 2026 primaries. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs is telling voters to mail ballots at least ten days before Election Day. USPS has released a 90-second public service announcement urging people to “mail early.”

Georgia opens early voting

In Georgia, in-person early voting runs from 13 to 30 October, including two Saturdays. The ballot includes the US Senate race between Senator Jon Ossoff and Representative Mike Collins, an open governor’s race, open contests for lieutenant governor, secretary of state and attorney general, and all 14 US House seats, four of them open.

The federal angle

The Postal Service is an independent federal agency, and its operating changes are not set by states or Congress. GAO puts USPS’s losses since 2007 at about $118 billion, and the Postmaster General has warned the agency could run short of cash early next year. Cost-cutting plans like regional transportation are part of the response, and rural voters bear the delay.

The administration has also tried to change mail voting directly. An executive order in March 2026 told USPS to limit ballot mail to voters on federal citizenship lists. The courts blocked the Postal Service rule for 2026, as covered in our post on the elections orders.

What voters can do

Officials’ advice is consistent: return mail ballots early, use drop boxes where available, or vote in person. Most states let voters track their ballot online. The deadlines vary by state, and in 2026 the gap between postmark and receipt matters more than it did.