USPS to boost ballot delivery efforts, but you still need to mail your ballot early

HONOLULU (KHON2) -- With Election Day approaching in Hawaii, the United States Postal Service said it will be ready to deliver ballots securely and on time, but voters have an important role to play: Mail completed ballots early enough to reach election offices by their deadlines.

The Postal Service said its nationwide network will be operating without any major reported disruptions, and ballot delivery performance continues to remain strong.

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USPS said through Oct. 9, 97.98% of ballots mailed were delivered on time compared with USPS service standards.

"The Postal Service is confident and ready to deliver a successful Election Mail season," Postmaster General David Steiner said. "[W]e share a common goal: instilling confidence in all Americans that their Election Mail will be handled securely – and delivered reliably."

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USPS recommended that domestic voters who are not in the military mail completed ballots before Election Day and at least one week before the ballots must arrive at their election offices. That's because the post by date tradition is being eliminated.

Here's what we know.

Extra measures begin Oct. 24

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The Postal Service said they will begin additional steps on Saturday, Oct. 24, to speed up ballot processing and delivery during the final weeks of the election season.

The measures will continue through the last day each state's election officials will accept completed mail ballots as timely, which in Hawaiʻi is 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The steps include:

• Extra mail deliveries and collections.

• Special pickups.

• Changes to sorting plans at processing facilities to speed delivery to election offices.

• Local handling and transportation of ballots.

USPS said these measures follow procedures used in past elections and are designed to help move ballot mail quickly when employees can identify it as election mail.

What voters need to know about postmarks

USPS said it has not changed its postmarking practices, but they did say that changes to transportation operations may have the potential to affect when mail reaches a processing facility.

Since postmarks are generally applied at those facilities, the date stamped on a ballot envelope may differ from the day a voter mails it.

Voters who want the postmark date to match the mailing date can bring their completed ballot to a postal retail counter and request a manual postmark. The service is free.

Security and delivery records

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service said they will monitor election mail processing and delivery, review security at postal facilities and report concerns to postal leaders for corrective action.

USPS pointed to its record from the 2024 general election, when 99.6% of ballots were delivered from voters to election officials within three days.

"The Postal Service has a long and strong record of successfully delivering Election Mail," said Amber McReynolds, chair of the Postal Service Board of Governors. She said that record has reflected planning, coordination and the work of hundreds of thousands of postal employees.

The Postal Inspection Service has asked the public to report suspicious mail or election related security incidents by calling 877-876-2455 or by clicking here .

For voters, the central message is simple: Check the deadline with your local election office and allow enough time for your ballot to arrive. Mailing early gives the postal system more time to move it through the network before the deadline.

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