Voters planning to vote by mail in the March 17, 2026 General Primarly Election should be aware of a recent USPS postmark policy change. Because postmarks now reflect when mail is processed - not when it is dropped off - ballots mailed close to Election Day could be postmarked late and rejected.
In Illinois, vote by mail ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received within 14 days. Because of this change, ballots mailed several days before Election Day could still receive a late postmark and be rejected. Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon is encouraging suburban voters to return mail ballots early, request a postmark at a post office, or use an official ballot drop box beginning March 2: www.cookcountyclerk.com/MBdropbox.