Yes, there is mail on Election Day. USPS delivers on its regular schedule, post offices keep normal hours, and UPS and FedEx also operate as usual, because Election Day is not a federal holiday. The next Election Day is November 3, 2026.
Why USPS Delivers on Election Day
Federal law sets 11 public holidays for government employees, and Election Day is not one of them.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 U.S. Code 6103 – Holidays The Postal Service observes the same 11 holidays as the rest of the federal government, so on Election Day carriers run their routes, retail windows stay open during posted hours, and collection boxes are picked up on their normal schedules.2About USPS. Employee and Labor Relations Manual – 518 Holiday Leave
UPS and FedEx on Election Day
Private carriers run too. UPS does not list Election Day on its 2026 holiday operations schedule, and FedEx observes only seven major holidays a year, none of them Election Day. Packages should move on their usual timelines.
One warning if you’re voting by mail: do not use UPS or FedEx to return a ballot. Most states require ballots to come back through USPS or an official drop box, and private carriers cannot provide the USPS postmark that some states use to determine whether a ballot arrived on time. A ballot sent by private carrier risks rejection.
If You Still Have a Mail-In Ballot on Election Day
Because the mail runs, it’s tempting to drop a ballot in a blue box on Election Day morning. Whether that works depends on your state’s deadline rule.
Thirty-six states require election officials to physically have your ballot by the time polls close on Election Day. Fourteen states and Washington, D.C., accept ballots that arrive later so long as they carry a postmark on or before Election Day; grace periods in those states range from one day to several weeks.3National Conference of State Legislatures. Table 11: Receipt and Postmark Deadlines for Absentee/Mail Ballots
In a receipt-deadline state, a ballot mailed Tuesday morning is unlikely to reach your election office by that evening, even with the extra sweeps USPS runs during election season.4U.S. Postal Service. U.S. Postal Service is Ready to Deliver the Nation’s Election Mail In a postmark state, timing still matters: every blue collection box has a label showing its last pickup of the day, and anything dropped after that pickup won’t be postmarked until the next day. You can look up nearby collection boxes and pickup times through the USPS location finder.5USPS.com. Find USPS Post Offices and Locations
Safer Options Than the Mailbox
- Ballot drop boxes are secure, locked containers run by election officials. They require no postage and are typically available until polls close. Availability varies: about 15 states require them, 14 permit them, and 11 prohibit them.6Election Assistance Commission. Ballot Drop Box
- Many states let you hand your completed mail-in ballot to your local election office or a designated polling place on Election Day. Some will also let you surrender the unvoted mail ballot and cast a regular ballot in person.
- If your ballot was damaged or never arrived, contact your local election office. Most jurisdictions can issue a replacement, though the process varies.
Postage on the Return Envelope
If you’re mailing rather than dropping off, check whether you need a stamp. Nineteen states and Washington, D.C., require election officials to provide prepaid return postage on mail-in ballot envelopes.7National Conference of State Legislatures. Table 12: States With Postage-Paid Election Mail Everywhere else, you supply your own. USPS handles ballot return envelopes as First-Class Mail, and a thick ballot with inserts may push the envelope over the standard letter weight and require extra postage.
The bottom line: mail moves normally on Election Day, which is convenient for everything except a ballot you haven’t sent yet. If it’s already Tuesday and your state requires receipt by poll close, skip the mailbox and take the ballot to a drop box or your election office directly.