SAN ANTONIO – With primary elections and tax season quickly approaching, a new U.S. Postal Service rule could impact whether your deadline-sensitive mail is considered on time.
Letters and packages will now be marked with the date they are processed at a Postal Service facility, as opposed to the day the mail is dropped off.
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Many organizations, including the Bexar County Elections Department, consider mail to be received on time if it is postmarked before the due date.
But the Postal Service maintains this has been an improper use of its postmark.
It also said it is not changing its policies, but instead consolidating some operations, which could result in differences between the date received and the postmark date becoming “more common.”
Regardless, the changes could still have an impact on those who are trying to beat the deadline.
Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai said the best advice is always to mail early.
However, if you need to ensure a piece of mail has a postmark showing the date it was received, USPS says customers can request a manual postmark from a clerk at the post office.
Sakai’s office also said in a statement that it recommends sending certified mail and keeping the receipt in the event that you need to prove when the mail was sent.
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