HR4915-119

What This Bill Does

The Election Mail Act makes mailed federal ballots more trackable and harder to disrupt in transit. States and jurisdictions must include a United States Postal Service intelligent mail barcode on return envelopes for federal-election ballots sent by mail, unless they use another tracking system. USPS must mark absentee ballot envelopes to show they were carried by the Postal Service and the date mailed. State and local election officials must use official election-mail tags, logos, and service type identifiers. Election mail must be carried under first-class service standards, completed absentee or mail-in ballots must be carried free of postage, and USPS may not make operational changes during the 120 days before a federal election that restrict prompt and reliable delivery, including removing collection boxes or sorting machines outside routine maintenance. USPS must appoint Election Mail Coordinators at area and district offices, consult annually with Indian Tribes about voting barriers on Indian lands, and states must accept federal mail ballots postmarked or otherwise indicated as mailed by election day if received within seven days.

Who Benefits and How

Mail ballot users benefit because intelligent mail barcodes and ballot visibility rules make mailed ballots easier to track and less likely to be mishandled. Absentee voters benefit because completed ballots must travel postage-free and be accepted if mailed by election day and received within seven days. Tribal voter communities benefit because the Postmaster General must consult annually with Indian Tribes about USPS barriers to voting on Indian lands. State election officials benefit from designated USPS Election Mail Coordinators for operational communication before federal elections.

Who Bears the Burden and How

State election officials must provide barcode-enabled return envelopes or equivalent tracking and follow mailed-ballot acceptance rules. Local election administrators must use official election-mail tags, logos, and service identifiers for domestic and international ballot mail. Postal Service operations staff must provide postmarks, first-class service standards, free completed-ballot carriage, and election-mail coordinators. USPS network managers are restricted from collection-box and sorting-machine changes during the 120-day pre-election period.

Key Provisions

• Requires intelligent mail barcodes or equivalent tracking for mailed federal-election ballots.
• Requires USPS postmarks or other date indicators on absentee ballots carried by the Postal Service.
• Requires official election-mail tags, logos, and service identifiers for ballot visibility.
• Bars USPS operational changes that restrict prompt election-mail delivery during the 120 days before a federal election.
• Requires acceptance of ballots mailed by election day and received within seven days for November 2026 and later federal elections.