WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) -- Voting is happening now in Kansas. Election offices across the state sent out advance mail ballots, and about 23,000 have already been ordered in Sedgwick County.
If you do vote by mail, election officials are warning you to do so early. They say you might want to choose a different way to return the ballots.
The change comes after Schwab sent a letter to the U.S. Postmaster General, complaining that nearly 1,000 mail-in ballots did not make it to election offices in time during the primary election or were sent without proper postmarks.
If you send in your ballot by mail, Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Laura Rainwater says to make sure you send it back at least a week before Election Day.
She says it's even better to return it in person at a polling location or put it in a ballot drop box.
"Included in those mail ballots, we put a little mail brochure that explains the way people can return their ballots," said Rainwater.
It's the first year that a brochure highlighting physical drop-off locations, such as ballot drop boxes and all polling sites, is included.
"That way, they come directly to us," Rainwater said. "With the postal service, you don't know where they're going, and we do receive ballots past that three-day grace period."
Schwab says he's not as concerned about this election.
"They treat ballots in the general election more seriously than they do in the primary because states have different primaries, and it's hard to do a universal policy and procedure for different states, but it's easier for the general cause everybody's gonna vote on Nov. 5," he said.
As for the next primary, he says it's the U.S. Congress's responsibility to improve the postal service and that it's likely not a state legislature issue.
"It's a problem for the foreseeable future, and I don't know how we're gonna address it," Schwab said.
He recommends dropping ballots at a dropbox or polling place, even during the general election.
Schwab had a call with the postmaster general, who told him the USPS is doing everything it can to ensure ballots are made on time.
That includes sweeping processing centers to ensure ballots aren't left behind. Once they're in the system, ballots will also be tracked more heavily.
KSN reached out to the USPS but did not receive a response to an interview request.