HR7265-119

What This Bill Does

The Vote by Mail Tracking Act creates a new Election Mail chapter in title 39 and adds section 3101 on trackable election mail. A government entity may not furnish a ballot envelope to be carried or delivered by mail unless the envelope includes a Postal Service barcode, or successor service or marking, that allows individual ballot tracking consistent with Postal Service parameters.

The ballot envelope must also satisfy Postal Service ballot envelope design requirements, meet Postal Service machineable-letter requirements, and include the Official Election Mail Logo or any successor label for ballots. The rule does not apply to a federal write-in absentee ballot under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.

By June 1 each year, the Postmaster General must provide election entities with the information needed to comply, including access to Postal Service tools for generating the barcode or successor marking.

Who Benefits and How

Mail ballot voters benefit from trackable ballot envelopes that can show the status of mailed ballots. State election offices benefit from annual Postal Service guidance and tools for generating compliant barcodes or successor markings. Local election officials benefit from clearer federal envelope standards for ballot design, machineability, and official election-mail labels. Postal Service election mail staff benefit because machineable and standardized envelopes can reduce processing problems. Ballot envelope vendors benefit from a clearer compliance specification that election offices must purchase.

Who Bears the Burden and How

State election offices must ensure mailed ballot envelopes include trackable Postal Service markings, comply with design and machineable-letter rules, and carry the Official Election Mail Logo. Local election officials must update procurement, printing, and ballot-mail workflows. Ballot envelope vendors must produce envelopes that meet Postal Service technical requirements. Postal Service election mail staff must provide compliance information and barcode-generation tool access by June 1 each year. Uniformed overseas voters using federal write-in absentee ballots are exempt from the envelope requirement but may not receive the same tracking treatment for that fallback ballot.

Key Provisions

• Creates a new title 39 Election Mail chapter.
• Requires mailed ballot envelopes to include a Postal Service barcode or successor marking for individual ballot tracking.
• Requires ballot envelopes to satisfy Postal Service ballot envelope design requirements.
• Requires ballot envelopes to satisfy Postal Service machineable-letter requirements.
• Requires ballot envelopes to include the Official Election Mail Logo or successor ballot label.
• Exempts federal write-in absentee ballots under UOCAVA.
• Requires the Postmaster General to provide annual compliance information and barcode-tool access by June 1.