ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Election officials and the United States Postal Service are sharing important information for those choosing the mail-in voting option this year.

What You Need To Know

  • All mail-in ballots must have a postmark date on or before election day, which is Nov. 5.

  • In order for it to be counted, it must be received within seven days after Election Day 

  • Mail-in ballots can also be hand delivered to polling locations or dropped into drop boxes at those sites

The USPS says it’s expecting its election mail service performance to be equal to or better than what customers experienced during the last presidential election.

Thousands of mail-in ballots that have already been filled out by voters and mailed are now being sorted and processed by election officials.

“The rule in New York used to be in 2020 people saw us opening absentee ballots after Election Day," said Republican Monroe County Board of Elections Commissioner Lisa Nicolay. "That used to be the law. Now they are opened on a four-day rolling canvas."

The Post Office has already done its job delivering a bulk of mail-in ballots, but thousands remain outstanding.

The USPS is recommending that voters who choose to mail in their ballots do so before Election Day and at least a week before their election office needs to receive them.

“So, I would recommend the same,” said Nicolay. “I would recommend that as soon as you get your ballot, if you already haven't, get it, vote it, turn it around [and] drop it in the mail. It's pre-postage paid so you don't even have to worry about a stamp.”

Nicolay explains New York state's deadlines.

"In order for it to be counted, we must receive it seven days after the election," she said. "But it has to have a postmark date of, before or on Eection Day, which is Nov. 5. And that's the same rule across New York state.”

There are some exceptions.

“If it's a federal ballot for someone out of the country [or a] service person, they have an extra seven days," Nicolay said. "So as long as it's postmarked on or before the 5th, then they have 14 days to get it to us and it will still be counted."

She also suggests voters drop off their early voting ballots, as drop boxes are available at every early voting location.

If you are choosing the mail-in ballot option, officials say the sooner you get that ballot in the mail the better. And the Postal Service says it will continue to deploy what it calls its extraordinary measures to accelerate the delivery of ballot mail.