An election worker takes ballots from voters dropping them off at an official ballot drop box this week at the Miami-Dade County Board of Elections in Doral, Fla.

An election worker takes ballots from voters dropping them off at an official ballot drop box this week at the Miami-Dade County Board of Elections in Doral, Fla.

Election officials in many states say it is now too late for voters to return absentee ballots by mail and are encouraging them instead to deliver their ballots by hand or vote in person3

Absentee ballots must be received on Election Day in more than two dozen states, including a handful of key swing states such as Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin.

But with the end of voting now less than a week away, election experts and many state officials said there is no longer enough time to ensure ballots sent through the mail will be delivered in time, especially given service delays with the U.S.

"Voters who have not mailed the ballot as of this date should not mail their ballots and should find another means to vote," said David Fineman, chair of the nonpartisan Fair Elections Center and a former chair of the Postal Service board of governors.

On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected Wisconsin's plan to count mail ballots received six days after Election Day if the envelopes were postmarked by Nov.

In states with stringent return deadlines, officials are encouraging voters to come up with alternative voting plans, such as submitting their ballots at official ballot drop boxes.

"We are too close to Election Day, and the right to vote is too important, to rely on the Postal Service to deliver absentee ballots on time," Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson wrote in a statement on Tuesday.

PA voters can hand-deliver their mail ballot to a drop box, their county election office, or satellite location until 8 pm Nov 3, but DON’T WAIT.

Postal Service's number one priority between now and the November election is the secure, timely delivery of the nation's Election Mail," Postal Service spokesperson Martha Johnson told NPR in a statement.

The Postal Service said 523 million pieces of election mail, including ballots and campaign literature, have been processed, an increase of 162% over the 2016 general election.

For voters who have requested an absentee ballot but haven't returned it yet, experts said the best option is to deliver a completed absentee ballot to their local election clerk or an official drop box, if available.

Those ballots will be counted once clerks can verify the voter did not also return an absentee ballot