Illinois Democrats are urging voters to send mail-in ballots early due to new postal processing procedures. This is the first election where these procedures could affect mail-ins. The ballots must receive a postmark by Election Day to be considered valid. If mailed too late, these ballots could be marked as late and not counted. The changes have led to concerns about potentially losing votes in the primary election. Democratic Party leaders have urged voters not to wait until the last minute to send their ballots in. Other options include sending them to the post office directly or at an early voting site.