As of December 24th, 2025, the date you drop off your letters and packages at your local post office may no longer be the official postmark. The official date honored will be the stamp from the postal facility where they are processed (such as a sorting facility). This change poses a risk to your time-sensitive mail and might potentially delay it from arriving on time.
What are some of the specific impacts of this change? It means your bills could be considered late and effect your credit rating. It challenges sending taxes in on time thus, avoiding late fees. It requires you to be attentive to deadlines required by Medicare and other vital documents.
An important example is an absentee ballot. If you are one who wants their voice heard through their vote and uses an absentee ballot, then please be aware of the Wisconsin guidelines as outlined on MyVote.wi.gov.
Step 3 of those guidelines tells you to line up a witness who can verify that you filled out your own ballot. In Step 4 states, “USPS recommends mailing the ballot back at least 7 days before Election Day.”
Because of the USPS postmark change, The League of Women Voters of St. Croix Valley is encouraging you to mail your ballot in early, perhaps 10 days instead of the previous recommendation of 7 days.
MAIL EARLY all your mail you care about arriving to a desired destination by a specific date. Especially an absentee ballot!