Protect Your 'Vote-By-Mail' Ballot In The Upcoming Illinois Primary: LETTER

The U.S. Postal Service taking one to three days to postmark or just process mail is not new. We’ve heard anecdotal evidence this has been going on with vote-by-mail ballots since at least 2024. What appears to be “new” is that this procedure was finally codified in December and made public.

Our advice to voters is to focus on what they should do to protect their vote-by-mail ballots:

• Use a secure drop box where available or return your vote-by-mail ballot directly to the election authority’s office.
• Use a drop box for this purpose at early voting sites.
• Go inside the post office or postal retail site and request your ballot be postmarked.
• Request and return vote-by-mail ballots as early as possible to avoid possible delays in processing.

Consider March 10 the last day to put your ballot in the U.S. mail ahead of the March 17 Primary.

Victoria L. Cerinich & Elaine Savage, Co-Presidents
League of Women Voters of Palos Orland Area