Mail-Back Deadlines Arrive as the Early Vote Nears 30 Million

October 27, 2026 · Category: Field & Elections

One week before the Nov. 3 midterms, the mailbox stops being a reliable way to vote in a number of states. In Arizona, the Secretary of State's Office says voters should mail early ballots back by Tuesday, Oct. 27, because counties can only count ballots received by 7 p.m. on Election Day, KJZZ reported. After today, Arizonans holding a ballot are being steered to drop boxes, voting centers and polling places instead. Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cázares-Kelly gave the same advice, according to the Tucson Sentinel. Kentucky's State Board of Elections posts a matching Postal Service recommendation to mail absentee ballots no later than Oct. 27.

Pennsylvania faces a different kind of deadline. Voters there have until 5 p.m. today to apply for a mail or absentee ballot, and completed ballots must reach county election offices by 8 p.m. on Election Day, the Department of State said. More than 1.2 million Pennsylvanians had applied as of Oct. 20. Anyone who applies at the last minute is betting on the mail running quickly in both directions, which is why Secretary Al Schmidt has encouraged voters to apply, fill out and return a ballot in a single visit to their county office.

The deadlines land while the early vote keeps climbing. NBC News' tracker counted 29.16 million ballots by 11 a.m. Eastern on Monday, and the University of Florida Election Lab's file showed 29.42 million, NewsCubby reported. The same NBC tally listed about 57.8 million mail ballots requested or sent to voters, compared with 14.6 million mail ballots returned. That gap includes states that mail a ballot to every voter, so it is not a count of people who plan to vote by mail, but it does show how much paper is still out there.

In-person options are narrowing too. Early voting ends Friday, Oct. 30, in Georgia and Texas, and at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, in North Carolina. Ohio and Michigan run through Sunday, Nov. 1, and Iowa's in-person absentee voting lasts until Monday, Nov. 2. Texas had recorded 4.39 million ballots through Oct. 25, and Georgia had accepted 1.78 million.

The practical effect is a shift in how the last week works. Once mailing a ballot becomes risky, the remaining voter contact turns to getting outstanding ballots dropped off in person and making sure everyone else knows where and when to vote.

Why it matters

Ballots that arrive after Election Day deadlines in states like Arizona and Pennsylvania are not counted, no matter when they were mailed. With tens of millions of mail ballots still outstanding, the guidance changes this week from "mail it" to "drop it off," and Pennsylvania's application window closes today.

Sources

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