League warns USPS postmarking change could disenfranchise mail-in voters in NYC primary

Diane Burroughs, chair of the speakers bureau for the League of Women Voters of the City of New York, said a recent U.S. Postal Service procedure change could make it harder for New Yorkers to prove timely mailing of ballots during the June 2026 primary.

"Postmarking is the way that the boards of elections of every state in this country keep track of deadlines," Burroughs said on the Bronxet TV program Open. She explained that retail-dropped mail is now routed to processing centers before postmarking, which can delay the date stamped on an item by one or several days.

That delay matters in New York because receipt and postmark rules determine whether a mailed ballot counts. "The League of Women Voters nationally is saying you must imagine that any deadline for any piece of mail... think of the deadline as actually being 7 to 10 days before the actual deadline," Burroughs said, urging voters to treat official deadlines as earlier than posted.

Why it matters: New York City's primary includes a June 23 ballot receipt deadline for mail ballots; delayed postmarks could cause ballots mailed on or near the deadline to be recorded late under state procedures. Burroughs recommended two practical workarounds: deliver a completed mail ballot directly to a polling-site dropbox, or, if using a post office, take the ballot to a window clerk and explicitly ask that it be postmarked immediately.

The League also reminded voters that if someone has both a mail ballot and decides to vote in person, they must vote by affidavit ballot at the poll site rather than attempting both methods; the League said dropping the mail ballot at the poll is the cleaner option when feasible.

What voters can do now: check official deadlines and sample ballots at the New York City Board of Elections (vote.nyc) and Vote411, allow extra lead time when mailing ballots, and consider in-person delivery to a polling site. The League's outreach teams have been tabling across the city to assist with registration and polling-location questions ahead of the primary.

The program did not report any formal actions or legal challenges during the segment; callers and listeners were directed to official election resources for current deadlines.