Solicitor: Supreme Court ruling means USPS rule changes won't affect fall election

Mr. Parks, the board solicitor, summarized recent legal developments about proposed U.S. Postal Service rule changes and their relationship to a presidential executive order. He said parties challenged the proposed USPS rules and the matter reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which issued a decision preventing the rule changes from taking effect for the upcoming fall election.

"So the simple takeaway is mail ballots and absentee ballots will operate the same as they have operated in recent elections in Pennsylvania," Mr. Parks said. The solicitor and director emphasized practical steps for voters: use a Delaware County drop box whenever possible because a ballot in a county drop box is "constructively in the possession of this board of elections" if placed there before 8 p.m. on Election Day — a legal distinction that can matter when Postal Service deliveries arrive after the deadline.

Mr. Parks and Mr. Allen recounted a prior incident in which a Postal Service delivery reached the Union Power Plant after 8:00 p.m. and ballots were ruled late under existing law. The solicitor said that absent a court order extending hours in specific circumstances, the statutory 8 p.m. deadline stands.