TYLER, Texas — Voting season is picking up and voting by mail is more popular now than ever before. With more people opting to stay inside this voting season, thieves are turning their attention to your mailboxes.
Ballot theft is one potential risk with voting-by-mail, but there are steps you can take to make sure your vote is counted.
The first thing is to track your ballot request through the United States Post Office’s (USPS) service “informed delivery.” This service allows users to see all of the mail that is scheduled to be delivered soon.
Once you’ve received your ballot and are ready to send it back, consider skipping the mailbox entirely, and dropping it off at a local post office instead.
"I would drop it off at a post office box or off at the post office. That way you know it's going to a postal carrier," Andy Erbaugh with Tyler PD said.
Taking it in-person can help avoid any middle man and more importantly, any thieves.