9月，北卡罗来纳州罗利市，一名威克县选举委员会的工作人员正在准备寄给选民的邮寄选票。
A Wake County Board of Elections employee prepares a mail-in ballot to be sent out to a voter in September in Raleigh, N.C.
Matt Ramey/美联社 如今，对于许多选民来说，在临近选举日时依赖美国邮政署（USPS）寄回邮寄选票多了一层风险——如果邮戳日期过晚，选票可能会被作废。
Matt Ramey/AP Relying on the U.S. Postal Service to return a mail-in ballot close to Election Day now comes with an additional risk for many voters — a late postmark that gets a vote rejected.
这种风险源于去年开始的邮政系统改革。这些变化促使一些选举官员建议选民考虑将选票送至当地选举办公室或任何可用的投递箱。
The risk stems from mailing system changes that began last year. And those changes have pushed some election officials to encourage voters to consider returning their ballots at their local election office or any available drop boxes instead.
在人们对邮政署能否按时投递选票的信任度下降之际，以及在特朗普总统曾试图限制中期选举的邮寄投票但被最高法院驳回之后，这种避开邮筒的呼声也随之而来。选举官员通常使用美国邮政署在信封上加盖的邮戳日期，来判定选票是否在选举日之前寄出。
The calls to avoid mailboxes also come as trust in the Postal Service delivering mail ballots on time has fallen and after President Trump pushed to restrict voting by mail for the midterm elections but was blocked by the Supreme Court Election officials often use the date of the postmark that USPS stamps on envelopes to determine whether a ballot was sent by Election Day.
在下个月选举日的前一周左右，美国邮政署表示，作为其旨在提升联邦大选邮件服务“特别措施”政策的一部分，计划在受改革影响的邮局推出特殊的邮戳程序。
About a week before next month's Election Day, USPS says it plans to roll out special postmarking procedures at post offices affected by the changes as part of its "extraordinary measures" policy to boost mail service for federal general elections.
尽管如此，该机构仍建议选民至少在各州规定的截止日期前一周寄回选票。对于那些设有迟到邮寄选票宽限期的州，美国邮政署建议选民前往邮局要求人工加盖邮戳，以确保选票能在寄出的当天获得邮戳。邮政系统改革如何导致邮戳延迟风险自2025年4月以来，美国邮政署（USPS）一直在削减部分邮局（尤其是农村地区）的每日邮件揽收服务并调整处理流程。
Still, the agency continues to recommend that voters mail back ballots at least a week before their state's deadline. And in states with a grace period for receiving late-arriving mail ballots, USPS recommends stopping by a post office to ask for a manual postmark to make sure a ballot gets postmarked on the same day it's mailed. How mailing system changes led to the risk of late postmarks Since April 2025, USPS has been rolling out cuts to daily mail pick-ups and processing changes at certain post offices, especially in rural areas.
美国邮政署将其称为“区域运输优化”（RTO）工作，这是该机构自2021年启动的一项为期10年的重组计划的一部分，旨在试图稳定其财务状况。因此，当信件由投递员揽收，或被投递至邮局或大型蓝色投递箱时，美国邮政署可能不会自动在信封上加盖当天的日期。
What USPS calls its "Regional Transportation Optimization" effort is part of a 10-year reorganization plan the agency began in 2021 to try to stabilize its finances As a result, USPS may not automatically stamp a date on an envelope the same day it's collected by a letter carrier or dropped off at a post office or a big blue collection box.
作为此次中期选举“特别措施”的一部分，美国邮政署已指示受RTO影响的邮局从10月26日起将寄回的选票与其他邮件分开，以便管理人员能够手动补盖选票揽收当天的邮戳。
As part of its "extraordinary measures" for these midterms, USPS has instructed post offices affected by RTO to separate returned ballots from other mail starting Oct. 26 so that managers can manually add postmarks the day the ballots are collected.
在今年的初选期间，这一程序尚未实施，导致多个州的选票拒绝率上升。
That procedure was not in place during this year's primary elections, which saw increased ballot rejection rates in multiple states.
布鲁金斯学会经济研究高级研究员埃琳娜·帕特尔（Elena Patel）表示，她对美国邮政署计划在未来几周内采取措施解决邮戳延迟问题的做法感到欣慰。
Elena Patel, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, says she is encouraged by the steps USPS plans to take in the coming weeks to address concerns about late postmarks.
但帕特尔补充说，对选民而言，情况依然存在风险，因为目前尚不清楚邮局将如何首次执行这些指令，特别是在人手可能紧张的地方。
But the situation is still risky for voters, Patel adds, given that it's not clear how post offices will carry out these directives for the first time, particularly in places where staffing may be stretched.
根据帕特尔的一项最新分析，在大选期间，由于RTO工作的影响，全国范围内可能有4.3万至5.5万张选票因送达延迟而被拒绝。该估算是在美国邮政署宣布其最终特别措施政策之前做出的。
For the general election, an additional 43,000 to 55,000 ballots around the country could be rejected for arriving late because of the RTO effort, according to a new analysis by Patel, who produced the estimates before USPS announced its final extraordinary measures policy.
“这就是在财政紧张的情况下运营一个庞大邮政网络的现实，”曾任邮政监管委员会经济学家的帕特尔说道。美国邮政署计划为邮寄选票采取其他“特别措施”美国邮政署已概述了其他特别措施：从10月24日开始（即选举日前的10天），部分邮局可能会将营业时间延长半小时，并专门为那些希望为自己的邮寄选票加盖邮戳的选民设置排队区或“免下车服务”通道。
"These are some of the realities of running a very large postal network on tight finances," says Patel, who once worked as an economist at the Postal Regulatory Commission. USPS plans to take other "extraordinary measures" for mail-in ballots USPS has outlined other extraordinary measures: Starting Oct. 24, 10 days before Election Day, some post offices may extend their opening and closing times by a half-hour and set up lines or drive-through lanes just for voters who want to get a manual postmark for their mail-in ballot.
美国邮政服务局（USPS）还表示，从10月26日起将加快选票的投递速度。
And starting Oct. 26, USPS says it plans to speed up delivery of ballots.
当被问及为何不在选举日前的15天就采取特别措施（就像2024年和2022年选举时那样）时，USPS在一份声明中解释道：“每次大选前，我们都会仔细考虑是否需要采取特别措施，这些决定基于多种内部因素。美国邮政服务局已经成功负责了美国所有选举邮件的投递工作超过150年，我们有信心今年也能顺利完成这项任务。”
Asked why it is not starting extraordinary measures 15 days before Election Day, as it did for the 2024 and 2022 elections, USPS said in a statement: "The time period for extraordinary measures is carefully considered in advance of each General Election, and it is based on a number of internal factors. The Postal Service has successfully delivered America's election mail for more than 150 years, and we are confident that we will do so again this year."
不过，阿拉斯加选民教育组织“Get Out the Native Vote”的负责人米歇尔·斯帕克（Michelle Sparck）指出，一些依赖邮寄方式投票的选民在面对复杂的邮政系统时陷入了困境。
Still, some eligible voters who rely on voting by mail are between "a rock and a hard place" when trying to navigate the mailing system, says Michelle Sparck, director of Get Out the Native Vote, a voter education organization in Alaska.
虽然该州的任何邮局都没有受到此次调整的影响，但作为切瓦克（Chevak）部落成员的斯帕克发现，许多阿拉斯加原住民村庄的选民的选票被拒收了；她担心这种情况会让他们失去再次投票的意愿。
No post offices in the state are affected by the RTO effort, but Sparck, a member of the Qissunamiut Tribe of Chevak, says she has come across many absentee voters in Alaska Native villages who had their ballots rejected — an outcome that she fears will discourage some from trying to vote again.
“造成这一问题的主要原因是邮戳加盖工作的延误。即使在天气良好的日子里，也不意味着邮局能在工作日正常营业、按时提供服务，”斯帕克说。“遵守系统的规则说起来总是容易，但实际上却很难做到。这个系统并不真正为我们的需求服务。”目前，斯帕克建议符合条件的选民尽早制定投票计划，如果可能的话，尽量在10月就完成投票，而不要等到11月的选举日。
"The No. 1 reason for that was postmarking delays. Now, even on a good Alaskan day with no weather challenges, it doesn't mean we're going to have an operational post office on a business day during business hours," Sparck says. "It's always, always easier said than done to kind of go along with the system's rules. But the system doesn't exactly work for us." For now, Sparck is encouraging eligible voters to make a plan to be an October voter and not wait until November's Election Day if they can.
“如果社区内有提前投票的机会，”斯帕克说，“我们呼吁人们将选票交给这些工作人员，这样选票就能纳入监管链中。” 本杰明·斯瓦西编辑投票故事
"If there is an early voting opportunity in a community," Sparck says, "we're asking people to drop their ballots off with those folks so that it becomes part of the chain of custody." Edited by Benjamin Swasey voting stories