Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon is urging voters who plan to vote by mail to take extra precautions following a recent United States Postal Service policy change that could affect whether mail ballots can be counted.

Effective Jan. 1, the postal service implemented a nationwide change to how it defines a postmark. Under the new policy, a postmark no longer reflects the date a ballot is received by USPS.  Instead, it reflects the date the mail is processed, an event that can occur days after a ballot is dropped in the mail.

In Illinois, vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received within 14 days to be counted. 

Because of the postmark change, voters who mail their ballot on or even several days before Election Day could still see their ballot postmarked too late and therefore rejected, despite having done everything correctly.

“While this change has been described as minor, its potential impact on elections is anything but,” Gordon said. “Under this new rule, voters who mail their ballot on time could still see their ballot postmarked late and not counted through no fault of their own.” 

To help ensure that all mail ballots are counted, the Clerk’s Office is urging voters to take the following steps: 

• Do not wait until the final days – or Election Day – to mail your ballot.
• If possible, bring your ballot directly to a local post office as far in advance as possible and request a postmark to help ensure timely processing.
• Beginning March 2, when Early Voting begins, voters may drop their mail ballots at any of the 55 secure mail ballot drop box locations that will be available throughout suburban Cook County. 

Gordon said vote by mail remains a secure, reliable and trusted method of voting, and that protecting the integrity of the process is a top priority for the office.

“We have worked hard to build public confidence in vote by mail,” Gordon said. “Any policy change that introduces uncertainty for voters is deeply concerning.”

For more information about vote-by-mail options and drop box locations, voters are encouraged to visit www.cookcountyclerk.com/elections.