A little less than six weeks before the March 17 primary election, Democratic Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon urged mail-in voters on Wednesday to return their ballots early amid a change in federal government procedures that she warned could make it harder to vote.
Gordon tied her concerns to the United States Postal Service’s recent decision, effective Jan. 1, to alter postmarking processes. While postmarks in the past were typically applied on the day an item was mailed, they are now listed as the day an item was processed at a USPS facility.
While the change might appear small, it could mean the difference of a day or more between ballots dropped in the mail and being postmarked, resulting in those mailed near the March 17 deadline not being postmarked by Election Day and therefore deemed invalid, even if a voter does “everything right,” Gordon said during a news conference.
“While this change has been described as minor, its impact on elections could be anything,” she said. “Do not wait until the final days or Election Day to mail your ballot.”
The USPS change comes after Republican President Donald Trump said last year he might take control of the postal service, which operates as an independent agency with leaders appointed by presidents, most recently Trump.
It also follows numerous false, misleading and unsupported claims by Trump that mail-in voting is prone to rampant fraud, even calling it “a whole big scam” in 2020 before he later lost his presidential reelection bid. In addition, Republicans, led by U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of downstate Murphysboro, have challenged Illinois’ law allowing mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted 14 days later, a case that the U.S. Supreme Court recently said could move forward.
Still, even as the president and Republicans have generally argued against mail-in balloting, the Republican National Committee and the Illinois Republican Party have ramped up efforts to encourage GOP voters to cast ballots by mail.
Asked if she viewed the policy shift as a voting suppression effort, Gordon said she thought “it is possible.”
“I am trying to be as objective as possible here, but across the country, historically, we have seen efforts of sophisticated voter suppression,” she said. “We will not allow our votes to be suppressed. We will not allow our voters’ voices not to be heard.”
But Gordon had little to say when asked about Trump’s calls during a Monday podcast appearance to “nationalize the voting,” which would be a violation of the U.S. Constitution. Trump told his former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino that he wants Republicans to “take over the voting” in “at least many — 15 places” while making vague, unsubstantiated claims of voting fraud.
“I have not had communication with the federal government,” Gordon said. “I’m never concerned about voter fraud here in Illinois.”
The county clerk urged voters returning mail-in ballots close to the March 17 election to instead take them directly to a post office and request that it be postmarked at the counter. And beginning March 2, voters can return ballots at 55 drop boxes across suburban Cook County, she said. The Cook County clerk’s office oversees elections for suburban Cook County communities. The Chicago Board of Elections oversees elections in the city.
Gordon’s office plans to send advisories to mail-ballot voters to reinforce the warning, she added.
USPS has pushed back against such concerns, calling it a “myth” that the postmarking process is changing in a statement on its website. The postal service said instead that transportation changes are occurring “that will result in some mail pieces not arriving at our originating processing facilities on the same day that they are mailed.”
USPS spokesperson Timothy Norman said in a statement to the Tribune that the agency has long recommended voters drop off ballots before Election Day. He encouraged voters to visit a post office and request a manual postmark if needed.
“We employ a long-standing, robust and proven process to ensure proper handling and delivery of all Election Mail, including ballots,” Norman said.
Gordon’s election deputy, Edmond Michalowski, said mail dropped off at boxes in the past was postmarked at local post centers.
“Now it has to go to a distribution center before it is routed,” he told reporters. “We’re not sure how this is going to affect those voters.”
Gordon said she did not know why the USPS change had been made. “But what I do know is that it’s ill timing. We got to do what we can to make sure that we get those ballots in on time,” she said.
Gordon declined to estimate how many ballots could be affected by the postmarking change.
Around 170,000 mail ballots will be sent to suburban voters for the 2026 primary, Michalowski said. Most of the returned ballots typically come “in a wave up front,” “and then they taper off closer to Election Day,” he added.
Gordon said more ballots typically come in as media coverage of elections ramps up. She called the rules change “unprecedented” and conceded she did not know what to expect from it.
“Every vote matters, and no voters should lose their voice because of confusion or delay,” she said. “We urge all voters to make a voting plan.”
Jake Sheridan
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