WASHINGTON — With all the controversy surrounding the U.S. Postal Service, it has sparked concerns that mail-in votes will not be counted by the November election deadline.
Critics claim the Postmaster General is making changes to dissuade people from mailing their votes, but the Trump administration denies those claims.
Here are some ways you can safely vote without relying on the U.S. Postal Service.
The sources for this story are the District of Columbia Board of Elections, the Maryland State Board of Elections, and the Virginia Department of Elections.
One way to beat the rush is to be in person, but early.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
If you are voting in the District, early in-person voting starts on Oct. 27 and goes through Nov. 2. Polls will be open from 8:30 a.m. until 7 p.m.
All active registered voters in D.C. will automatically get mail-in ballots sent to their homes starting the first week of October, but the election board will not require people to mail in the votes.
There will be drop boxes spread throughout the city. The list of those sites are posted online. Click here for more information.
MARYLAND
In Maryland, early in-person voting starts on Oct. 26 and goes through Nov. 2.
According to the State Board of Elections website, each early voting location will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Maryland is handling mail-in votes differently than D.C.
All registered Maryland voters will get an application sent to their homes instead of an actual mail-in ballot.
People will need to return that application or request a mail-in ballot online.
The ballots can be hand-delivered to the local board of elections or a polling location before they close on election day.
There will also be drop boxes in Maryland, but a list of where they will be was not available at the time this story was published.
VIRGINIA
Lastly, in Virginia, the department of elections website indicates early in-person voting will start 45 days before the election at local registrar’s offices and end on Halloween.
If you want to get a mail-in ballot, voters must apply online or return the form to their local registrar’s office which can be done by mail, fax, or email.
Virginia currently does not have drop boxes planned, but the governor is considering them in order to make absentee voting easier.
All three jurisdictions have ways that you can track your ballots if you do decide to send them by mail.
