Election Mail Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill amends Help America Vote Act to require states to provide intelligent mail barcodes on ballot return envelopes for federal elections, with exception for states using alternative ballot tracking systems; effective, establishes detailed requirements for intelligent mail barcodes on ballot return envelopes, with exception for alternative tracking systems; applies to US territories; effective January 2026, and requires USPS to postmark all absentee ballots with date mailed; requires election officials to use Tag 191 and Official Election Mail logo on ballot trays; adds ballot visibility requirements for intelligent mail. It relies on compliance mandates, product standards, exemptions, and reporting requirements. The main policy areas are Election Administration, Transportation, and Technology.
Who Benefits and How
Mail-in voters could see lower costs, Mail-in voters concerned about ballot rejection could face reduced risk, and Voters using mail-in ballots could face reduced risk.
Who Bears the Burden and How
U.S. Postal Service could face higher costs, State and local election officials would take on compliance duties, and State election officials would take on compliance duties.
Key Provisions
- Amends Help America Vote Act to require states to provide intelligent mail barcodes on ballot return envelopes for federal elections, with exception for states using alternative ballot tracking systems; effective...
- Establishes detailed requirements for intelligent mail barcodes on ballot return envelopes, with exception for alternative tracking systems; applies to US territories; effective January 2026.
- Requires USPS to postmark all absentee ballots with date mailed; requires election officials to use Tag 191 and Official Election Mail logo on ballot trays; adds ballot visibility requirements for intelligent mail...
- Requires USPS to indicate on all absentee ballot envelopes that the ballot was carried by USPS and the date it was mailed, using postmark or other indication.
- Requires election officials to affix Tag 191 to ballot trays/sacks, use Official Election Mail logo, and ensure barcode service type identifiers are visible on ballots destined for domestic or international addresses.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
The bill amends Help America Vote Act to require states to provide intelligent mail barcodes on ballot return envelopes for federal elections, with exception for states using alternative ballot tracking systems; effective, establishes detailed requirements for intelligent mail barcodes on ballot return envelopes, with exception for alternative tracking systems; applies to US territories; effective January 2026, and requires USPS to postmark all absentee ballots with date mailed; requires election officials to use Tag 191 and Official Election Mail logo on ballot trays; adds ballot visibility requirements for intelligent mail.
Key Policy Areas
Election Administration, Transportation, Technology
Primary Purpose
The bill amends Help America Vote Act to require states to provide intelligent mail barcodes on ballot return envelopes for federal elections, with exception for states using alternative ballot tracking systems; effective, establishes detailed requirements for intelligent mail barcodes on ballot return envelopes, with exception for alternative tracking systems; applies to US territories; effective January 2026, and requires USPS to postmark all absentee ballots with date mailed; requires election officials to use Tag 191 and Official Election Mail logo on ballot trays; adds ballot visibility requirements for intelligent mail.
Policy Domains
Title 39 - Postal Service Amendments
Identified Gains
- Mail-in voters
- Mail-in voters concerned about ballot rejection
- Voters using mail-in ballots
- State and local election officials
- Native American voters on Indian lands
Identified Costs
- U.S. Postal Service
- State and local election officials
- State election officials
- USPS operational management
- State and territorial election officials
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMs. Klobuchar introduced the following bill; which was read twice …
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and …
Introduced in Senate
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Mail-in voters, Mail-in voters concerned about ballot rejection, Native American voters on Indian lands
State and local election officials, State and territorial election officials, State election officials
State and local election officials faces effects in multiple directions
Postmaster General / USPS, U.S. Postal Service, USPS operational management
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "postal_service"
- → United States Postal Service
- "postmaster_general"
- → Postmaster General
- "state_election_officials"
- → State and local election officials
- "election_assistance_commission"
- → Election Assistance Commission
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Indian country, Alaska Native lands under ANCSA, seats of Tribal government, and Tribal designated statistical areas
A general, special, primary, or runoff election for the office of President or Vice President, or of Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress
Voter registration applications/cards, absentee/mail-in ballot applications and ballots, and other election materials mailed by State or local officials to registered voters
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology