This story was updated on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, at 3:14 p.m.
The U.S. Postal Service is calling on voters to mail their absentee ballots at least one week before election offices need to receive them on Election Day.
In Georgia, absentee ballots need to be received by the time polls close on Election Day at 7 p.m.
Election offices have accepted more than 184,000 mail-in ballots as of Monday, Oct. 28, at 6:30 p.m., according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office. The deadline for requesting an absentee ballot has passed.
“As we anticipate an uptick of ballots in the mail over the coming days, Postal Service employees are working to ensure the ballots of every individual who chooses to vote by mail are delivered quickly and securely,” the postal service stated in a Monday press release. “As in past elections, the Postal Service is ready to deliver your ballot on time. But don’t delay. If you choose to vote by mail, please mail early as every day counts.”
The postal service is anticipating that delivery times for 2024 general election ballots will be similar to those of the 2020 election. According to the USPS, the service delivered 99.89% of mail-in ballots to election officials within a week, 99.7% within five days and 97.9% within three days.
During the first three weeks of October, the USPS delivered 99.9% of ballots — both to voters and from voters to election officials — within a week. The USPS has delivered ballots to voters in two days on average and has delivered ballots from voters to election officials in one day on average. The postal service has delivered 98.3% of ballots to election officials within three days.
The USPS has also undertaken “extraordinary measures” as of Oct. 21 to expedite ballot mail submitted close to Election Day.
These measures include extra deliveries and collections, special pick-ups, special sort plans at processing facilities and local ballot transportation.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia has been a vocal critic of the postal service following monthslong mail delivery issues in the state.
“My recommendation, given the failures of the United States Postal Service in Georgia this year, is to vote early in person, for those who are or have voted by mail to track their ballot on the Secretary of State’s website and to call the voter protection hotline with any questions or for guidance,” he told WABE shortly after casting a ballot on Tuesday.
The postal service assured voters that it has the capacity to handle mail-in ballots, adding that ballots only accounted for 0.11% of the mail volume in 2020.
Georgia voters can still drop off absentee ballots at several drop box locations throughout their county.
WABE’s Rahul Bali contributed reporting to this story.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the time that absentee ballots need to be received. In fact, they need to be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day in order to be counted. Eligible UOCAVA ballots need to be received by Nov. 8 and postmarked by Nov. 5.
