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The flag flies outside a U.S. Post Office branch, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, in Boston. Credit: Charles Krupa / AP Photo

No.

The U.S. Postal Service did not change its postmark rules, although it did change its Domestic Mail Manual to clarify how it postmarks mail. The USPS states mail is generally postmarked with the date it was first received at a processing facility.

What did recently change, according to the USPS, is its “transportation operations that will result in some mailpieces not arriving at our originating processing facilities on the same day that they are mailed.”

Some people have raised concerns about the mailing of bills, absentee ballots and other items that require a specific postmark date. Connecticut voters should not be affected by the potential delays because the state does not require a postmark to accept an absentee ballot, but that it is returned before polls close on Election Day.

Those concerned about a postmark date, however, can request a manual postmark at the time of the mailing.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

CT Mirror partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims.

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Mariana Navarrete Villegas is a Community Engagement Reporter for The Connecticut Mirror, covering Hartford. She recently graduated from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism with a master’s degree in Bilingual Journalism. Previously, she was the Community Engagement and Video Assistant at Epicenter-NYC and a Podcast Intern at The Take, Al Jazeera English’s daily news podcast. As a reporter, she has covered stories from New York to Florida, California, Panama, and Mexico, focusing on labor rights, immigration, and community care. She also hosts 'La Chismesita,' a community radio show in New York that archives oral histories through conversations with women community leaders. Originally from Mexico, Mariana spent her teenage years in Panama. She holds a B.A. in Global Studies with a minor in Psychology from Saint Leo University, where she interned at the International Rescue Committee.