In the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon, the number of ballots rejected for late postmarks has surged, raising concerns about the U.S. Postal Service's operational changes. During the May primary, Oregon saw a rejection rate of 13%, up from 9.5% two years earlier. Washington's rural counties reported rejection rates exceeding 4%, prompting officials to add more drop boxes and urge voters to mail ballots early.
We’ll perform a deep-dive analysis of all sources and publicly available external materials, then prepare a structured timeline of events, an in-depth report explaining the background and context, and multiple perspectives.