If election is close in any state(s), here are mail-in ballot receipt rules state by state (voters, campaign)

[sprklcl]

https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vopp-table-11-receipt-and-postmark-deadlines-for-absentee-ballots.aspx

Only providing the Url/weblink above because so you can better see the info in a table format



State and CitationDeadline by Which Election Officials Must Receive Absentee/Mailed BallotsDoes the State Accept Postmarked Ballots that Arrive After Election Day?
Alabama Ala. Code § 17-11-18 Election Day (by noon) and postmarked by the day before the election. No
AlaskaAS § 15.20.081(e) and (h) Election Day or 10 days after the election if postmarked on or before Election Day. Yes
Arizona A.R.S. 16-547 Election Day (by 7 p.m.) No

Arkansas A.C.A. § 7-5-411 Election Day (by 7:30 p.m.) for mailed ballots or close of business the day before the election for hand-delivered ballots. No
California West's Ann. Cal. Elect. Code § 3020 Election Day (before polls close) or three days after the election if postmarked on or before Election Day. Yes

Colorado C.R.S. § 1-7.5-107 Election Day (by 7 p.m.) No
Connecticut Conn. Gen. Stat. 45-9-140b Election Day (before polls close) No

Delaware Del. Code Ann. § 15-55-5508 Election Day (before polls close) No
District of Columbia DC ST § 1-1001.05(a)(10A) Seven days after the election if postmarked on or before Election Day. Yes

Florida West's F.S.A. §101.67 Election Day (by 7 p.m.) No

Georgia GA Code Ann. 183-1-14 Election Day (before polls close) No

Hawaii Act 136, SLH 2019 Election Day (before polls close) No
Idaho Idaho Code 10-34-1005 Election Day (by 8 p.m.) No

Illinois 10 ILCS 5/19-8, 10 ILCS 5/18A-15 Fourteen days after the election if postmarked on or before Election Day. Yes
Indiana IC 3-12-1-17 Election Day No

Iowa Iowa Code § 53.17(2) Election Day (before polls close) or noon the Monday following the election if postmarked by the day before the election. Yes (must be postmarked the day before the election)
Kansas K.S.A. 25-1132 Three days after the election if postmarked before the close of polls on Election Day. Yes

Kentucky Ky. Rev. Stat. 117.086 Election Day (before polls close) No

Louisiana LSA-R.S. 18:1311 The day before the election. No
Maine Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. 21-A § 755 Election Day (before polls close) No

Maryland MD Code, Election Law, § 9-505 Postmarked on or before Election Day. Yes

Massachusetts Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. Section 95 Election Day (before polls close) No
Michigan Mich. Comp. Laws 168.764a Election Day (before polls close) No
Minnesota Minn. Stat. 203B.08 Election Day (before polls close) for mailed/absentee ballots or 3 p.m. on Election Day for hand-delivered ballots. No

Mississippi Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-637 Five business days after Election Day if postmarked on or before Election Day. Yes

Missouri Mo. Rev. Stat. 115.293 Election Day (before polls close) No

Montana Mont. Code Ann. 13-13-232 Election Day (before polls close) No

Nebraska Nebraska Revised Statute 32-950 Election Day (before polls close) No
Nevada NV Rev Stat § 293.317 By 5 p.m. on the seventh day after Election Day if postmarked by Election Day. Ballots with unclear postmarks must be received by 5 p.m. on the third day after Election Day. Yes
New Hampshire NH Rev Stat § 657:22 Election Day (by 5 p.m.) No

New Jersey N.J.S.A. 19:63-22 Forty-eight hours after polls close if postmarked on or before Election Day. Yes
New Mexico N.M. Stat. Ann. 1-6-10(B) Election Day (by 7 p.m.) No

New York McKinney's Election Law § 8-412 Election Day (before polls close) for hand-delivered ballots or seven days after the election for mailed ballots postmarked on Election Day. Yes

North Carolina N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163A-1310 Three days after the election if postmarked on or before Election Day. Yes

North Dakota NDCC 16.1-07-09 The day before the election. Before the canvass if postmarked the day before the election. Yes (must be postmarked the day before the election)
Ohio R.C. § 3509.05 Ten days after the election if postmarked by the day before Election Day. Yes (must be postmarked the day before the election)

Oklahoma 26 OK Stat § 26-14-104 Election Day (by 7 p.m.) No
Oregon Or. Rev. Stat. §253.070 Election Day (by 8 p.m.) No

Pennsylvania 25 P.S. § 3146.8 Election Day (by 8 p.m.) No

Rhode Island RI Gen L § 17-20-8 Election Day (by 8 p.m.) No

South Carolina SC Code § 7-15-420 Election Day (before polls close) No

South Dakota S.D. Codified Laws Ann. 12-19-12 Election Day (before polls close) No

Tennessee Tenn. Code Ann. 2-6-304 Election Day (before polls close) No

Texas Texas Election Code § 86.007 The day after the election by 5 p.m. if postmarked on or before Election Day. Yes

Utah Utah Code Ann. § 20A-3a-204 Seven to 14 days after the election (by the county canvass date) if postmarked the day before the election. Yes (must be postmarked the day before the election)
Vermont Vermont Statutes Title 17. Elections, § 2543 Absentee votes must be returned to the town clerk's office before the close of business on the day before the election, or to the polling place by 7pm on Election Day. No

Virginia Va. Code 24.2-709 Three days after the election (by noon) if postmarked on or before Election Day. Yes

Washington West's RCWA 29A.40.091 Postmarked on or before Election Day. Yes

West Virginia W. Va. Code, § 3-3-5, § 3-5-17 Five days after the election if postmarked on or before Election Day. Yes

Wisconsin Wis. Stat. 6.87(6) Election Day (by 8 p.m.) No

Wyoming Wyo. Stat. 22-9-119 Election Day (before polls close) No

[dspguy]

Thanks for compiling all of that.

So, MI, WI, PA and FL all require ballots to be in-hand by the time polls end. So, the idea that ballots can be harvested and pre-dated is pretty bogus. NC allows for ballots to arrive up to 3 days after the election as long as it is postmarked by Election Day.

Speaking of pre-dating your postmark - I don't know if it was changed or not, but I worked as a shipping clerk in 5 different offices when I was a teenager. The Pitney-Bowes machine we had that produced the mark was hardwired to a phone line to give it accurate time (and likely to track all transactions) and it would not allow for the date to be changed. We couldn't make October 21st's mail look like October 20th's mail.

When mail-in ballots arrive, you can be confident they were postmarked on the day they were postmarked. Another reason to think that "stealing" the election really isn't something that is possible by way of voter fraud. Not like they found any in 2016 anyway... and if Democrats were going to steal an election, why didn't they just steal 2016 when Trump won by such a small margin in PA, MI and WI? 77,000 votes would child's play for them... if they could steal the election.

[john3232]

Originally Posted by dspguy

Thanks for compiling all of that.

So, MI, WI, PA and FL all require ballots to be in-hand by the time polls end. So, the idea that ballots can be harvested and pre-dated is pretty bogus. NC allows for ballots to arrive up to 3 days after the election as long as it is postmarked by Election Day.

Speaking of pre-dating your postmark - I don't know if it was changed or not, but I worked as a shipping clerk in 5 different offices when I was a teenager. The Pitney-Bowes machine we had that produced the mark was hardwired to a phone line to give it accurate time (and likely to track all transactions) and it would not allow for the date to be changed. We couldn't make October 21st's mail look like October 20th's mail.

When mail-in ballots arrive, you can be confident they were postmarked on the day they were postmarked. Another reason to think that "stealing" the election really isn't something that is possible by way of voter fraud. Not like they found any in 2016 anyway... and if Democrats were going to steal an election, why didn't they just steal 2016 when Trump won by such a small margin in PA, MI and WI? 77,000 votes would child's play for them... if they could steal the election.

I worked in the mail room of a large brokerage firm in San Francisco while in college (early 1980's.)

I ran the mail through a Pitney-Bowes machine but I could back date mail and did so when told.

[dspguy]

Originally Posted by john3232

I worked in the mail room of a large brokerage firm in San Francisco while in college (early 1980's.)

I ran the mail through a Pitney-Bowes machine but I could back date mail and did so when told.

This was the mid-to-late 90s. It is possible the technology changed. The first year I did this, we used to have to call P-B to get the machine "re-filled." That changed around 1996 or 1997. We got a new machine that rolled over the date itself because it had a direct connection (albeit, a modem) to handle transactions and dates.

I'm not saying it is impossible. I haven't worked as a shipping clerk since 2000. I'd imagine technology advances would prevent it.

As per Pitney-Bowes' website (https://support.pitneybowes.com/Sear...0USPS%20policy.)

Originally Posted by Pitney Bowes

You cannot backdate your mail, (that is, you cannot change your printed date to a date earlier than the meter's internally held date)

Bolded emphasis is mine. It likely isn't possible to do so anymore.

[Huasho]

Not to worry, the Sunshine State broke all Records for the 19th of October on the 1st Day of Early Voting and Dropping Off Mail In Ballots.

Florida's BEST Opening Day for Voters Turn Out in Our History.

[BoBromhal]

we need like a chart.

It's one thing if 10,000 absentee ballots are hanging out Nov 3rd in a 5000-vote margin state.

it's another if Biden (for example) leads CA by 5MM votes but there are 1MM absentees remaining on Nov 3

[Roboteer]

This makes me wonder what each state's rules on "early voting" (before Election Day) and "Late Voting (After Election Day) are.


And, what does each state say now, about allowing unattended ballot drop boxes? Many of them have changed their rules after the major ballot-dropbox fraud seen in 2020.