The US Postal Service is urging voters to request their November mail-in ballots at least 15 days before the election

• The United States Postal Service is strongly recommending that Americans voting by mail in November request their ballot at least 15 days before the election.
• “We recommend that jurisdictions immediately communicate and advise voters to request ballots at the earliest point allowable but no later than 15 days prior to election date,” the Postal Service told Fox News.
• Even though nearly half of states allow voters to request mail ballots within a week of the election, election officials and USPS recommend voters put their ballots in the mail at least a week out from the election.

The United States Postal Service is strongly encouraging voters to request their mail-in ballots for the November 3 general election at least 15 days in advance, if not more, due to the significant expected increase in mail voting.

“We recommend that jurisdictions immediately communicate and advise voters to request ballots at the earliest point allowable but no later than 15 days prior to election date,” the Postal Service told Fox News in a statement.

Currently, seven states and the District of Columbia are set to send all or most registered voters a mail-in ballot for the 2020 election and 35 more will allow all voters to cast a mail ballot without an excuse beyond fear of COVID-19, according to a Washington Post analysis. 

While eight states are set to send mail ballot applications to all or most voters, election officials and experts have previously told Insider that with less than 100 days to go before the election, voters should request their ballots as soon as possible to reduce the strain on local election officials and increase the chances of their ballot arriving on time.