‘‘Subtitle B—Requirements 
Relating to Mailed Ballots 
‘‘SEC. 311. USE OF INTELLIGENT MAIL BARCODES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State and jurisdiction shall 
provide with each ballot for an election for Federal office 
that is sent by mail a return envelope that contains an 
intelligent mail barcode, as prescribed by the United 
States Postal Service. 
‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to 
any ballot for which a State or jurisdiction uses an alter-
native system that enables voters to track the ballot 
through the mail. 
‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The requirements of this 
section shall apply to elections for Federal office occurring 
on or after January 1, 2023.’’. 
(b) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 401 of the Help Amer-
ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21111) is amended by 
inserting ‘‘or the requirements for mailed ballots under 
subtitle B of title III’’ before the period at the end. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 321(a) of 
such Act (52 U.S.C. 21101), as redesignated by sub-
section (a), is amended by striking ‘‘section 312’’ and in-
serting ‘‘section 322’’. 
(d) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 
of such Act is amended— 
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(1) by striking ‘‘Subtitle B—Voluntary’’ and in-
serting ‘‘Subtitle C—Voluntary’’; 
(2) redesignating the items relating to sections 
311 and 312 as relating to sections 321 and 322, 
respectively; and 
(3) by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 305 the following: 
‘‘Subtitle B—Requirements Relating to Mailed Ballots 
‘‘Sec. 311. Use of intelligent mail barcodes.’’. 
SEC. 4. ELECTION MAIL AND DELIVERY IMPROVEMENTS. 
(a) POSTMARK REQUIRED FOR BALLOTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Chapter 34 of title 39, 
United States Code, as amended by section 2, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘§ 3408. Postmark required for ballots 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any absentee bal-
lot carried by the Postal Service, the Postal Service shall 
indicate on the ballot envelope, using a postmark or other-
wise— 
‘‘(1) the fact that the ballot was carried by the 
Postal Service; and 
‘‘(2) the date on which the ballot was mailed. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘absentee ballot’ means any ballot 
transmitted by a voter by mail in an election for 
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Federal office, but does not include any ballot cov-
ered by section 3406; and 
‘‘(2) the term ‘election for Federal office’ means 
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 Com-
missioner to, the Congress.’’. 
(2) TECHNICAL
AND
CONFORMING
AMEND-
MENT.—The table of sections for chapter 34 of title 
39, United States Code, as amended by section 2(a), 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘3408. Postmark required for ballots.’’. 
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by this subsection shall apply to absentee ballots re-
lating to an election for Federal office occurring on 
or after the date that is 60 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
(b) GREATER VISIBILITY FOR BALLOTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title III of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 
et seq.), as added by section 3, is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 312. BALLOT VISIBILITY. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State or local election offi-
cial shall— 
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‘‘(1) affix Tag 191, Domestic and International 
Mail-In Ballots (or any successor tag designated by 
the United States Postal Service), to any tray or 
sack of official ballots relating to an election for 
Federal office that is destined for a domestic or 
international address; 
‘‘(2) use the Official Election Mail logo to des-
ignate official ballots relating to an election for Fed-
eral office that is destined for a domestic or inter-
national address; and 
‘‘(3) if an intelligent mail barcode (as described 
in section 311) is utilized for any official ballot re-
lating to an election for Federal office that is des-
tined for a domestic or international address, ensure 
the specific ballot service type identifier for such 
mail is visible. 
‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The requirements of this 
section shall apply to elections for Federal office occurring 
on or after the date that is 60 days after the date of the 
enactment of this section.’’. 
(2) ISSUANCE
OF
VOLUNTARY
GUIDANCE
BY 
ELECTION
ASSISTANCE
COMMISSION.—Section 
321(b) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21101(b)), as redes-
ignated by section 3, is amended— 
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(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (2); 
(B) by striking the period at the end of 
paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(4) in the case of the recommendations with 
respect to section 312, the date described in section 
312(b).’’. 
(3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents of such Act, as amended by section 3, is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 311 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 312. Ballot visibility.’’. 
SEC. 5. CARRIAGE OF ELECTION MAIL. 
(a) TREATMENT OF ELECTION MAIL.— 
(1) TREATMENT AS FIRST-CLASS MAIL; FREE 
POSTAGE.—Chapter 34 of title 39, United States 
Code, as amended by section 2 and section 3(a), is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘§ 3409. Domestic election mail; restriction of oper-
ational changes prior to elections 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ELECTION
FOR
FEDERAL
OFFICE.—The 
term ‘election for Federal office’ means a general, 
special, primary, or runoff election for the office of 
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President or Vice President, or of Senator or Rep-
resentative in, or Delegate or Resident Commis-
sioner to, the Congress. 
‘‘(2) ELECTION MAIL.—The term ‘election mail’ 
means— 
‘‘(A) a blank or completed voter registra-
tion application form, voter registration card, or 
similar materials, relating to an election for 
Federal office; 
‘‘(B) a blank or completed absentee and 
other mail-in ballot application form, and a 
blank or completed absentee or other mail-in 
ballot, relating to an election for Federal office, 
and 
‘‘(C) other materials relating to an election 
for Federal office that are mailed by a State or 
local election official to an individual who is 
registered to vote. 
‘‘(b) CARRIAGE OF ELECTION MAIL.—Election mail 
(other than balloting materials covered under section 3406 
(relating to the Uniformed and Overseas Absentee Voting 
Act)), individually or in bulk, shall be carried in accord-
ance with the service standards established for first-class 
mail under section 3691. 
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‘‘(c) NO POSTAGE REQUIRED FOR COMPLETED BAL-
LOTS.—Completed absentee or other mail-in ballots (other 
than balloting materials covered under section 3406 (relat-
ing to the Uniformed and Overseas Absentee Voting Act)) 
shall be carried free of postage. 
‘‘(d) RESTRICTION OF OPERATIONAL CHANGES.— 
During the 120-day period which ends on the date of an 
election for Federal office, the Postal Service may not 
carry out any new operational change that would restrict 
the prompt and reliable delivery of election mail. This sub-
section applies to operational changes which include— 
‘‘(1) removing or eliminating any mail collection 
box without immediately replacing it; and 
‘‘(2) removing, decommissioning, or any other 
form of stopping the operation of mail sorting ma-
chines, other than for routine maintenance. 
‘‘(e) ELECTION MAIL COORDINATOR.—The Postal 
Service shall appoint an Election Mail Coordinator at each 
area office and district office to facilitate relevant informa-
tion sharing with State, territorial, local, and Tribal elec-
tion officials in regards to the mailing of election mail.’’. 
(2) REIMBURSEMENT OF POSTAL SERVICE FOR 
REVENUE FORGONE.—Section 2401(c) of title 39, 
United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘sec-
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tions 3217 and 3403 through 3406’’ and inserting 
‘‘sections 3217, 3403 through 3406, and 3409’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 
The table of sections for chapter 34 of title 39, United 
States Code, as amended by section 2 and section 3(a), 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘3409. Domestic election mail; restriction of operational changes prior to elec-
tions.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect upon the expiration of the 
180-day period which begins on the date of the enactment 
of this section. 
SEC. 6. UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE CONSULTATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Postmaster General shall 
consult with Indian Tribes, on an annual basis, regarding 
issues relating to the United States Postal Service that 
present barriers to voting for eligible voters living on In-
dian lands. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 
(1) INDIAN LANDS.—The term ‘‘Indian lands’’ 
means— 
(A) any Indian country, as such term is 
defined in section 1151 of title 18, United 
States Code, of an Indian Tribe; 
(B) any land in Alaska that is owned, pur-
suant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 
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Act, by an Indian Tribe that is a Native village 
(as such term is defined in section 3 of such 
Act), or by a Village Corporation that is associ-
ated with the Indian Tribe (as such term is de-
fined in section 3 of such Act); 
(C) any land on which the seat of govern-
ment of the Indian Tribe is located; and 
(D) any land that is part or all of a tribal 
designated statistical area associated with the 
Indian Tribe, or is part or all of an Alaska Na-
tive village statistical area associated with the 
Tribe, as defined by the Bureau of the Census 
for the purposes of the most recent decennial 
census. 
(2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 
means the recognized governing body of any Indian 
or Alaska Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, 
community, component band, or component reserva-
tion, individually identified (including parentheti-
cally) in the list published most recently pursuant to 
section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian 
Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 
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SEC. 7. UNIFORM DEADLINE FOR ACCEPTANCE OF MAILED 
BALLOTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title III of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), as 
added by section 3 and amended by section 4, is amended 
by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 313. UNIFORM DEADLINE FOR ACCEPTANCE OF 
MAILED BALLOTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A State or local election official 
may not refuse to accept or process a ballot submitted by 
an individual by mail with respect to an election for Fed-
eral office in the State on the grounds that the individual 
did not meet a deadline for returning the ballot to the 
appropriate State or local election official if— 
‘‘(1) the ballot is postmarked or otherwise indi-
cated by the United States Postal Service to have 
been mailed on or before the date of the election; 
and 
‘‘(2) the ballot is received by the appropriate 
election official prior to the expiration of the 7-day 
period which begins on the date of the election. 
‘‘(b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to prohibit a State from having 
a law that allows for counting of ballots in an election for 
Federal office that are received through the mail after the 
date that is 7 days after the date of the election. 
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‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 
with respect to elections for Federal office occurring on 
or after January 1, 2023.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act, as amended by sections 3 and 4, is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 312 the fol-
lowing new item: 
‘‘Sec. 313. Uniform deadline for acceptance of mailed ballots.’’. 
SEC. 8. APPLICATION OF HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002 
TO COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN 
MARIANA ISLANDS. 
Section 901 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(52 U.S.C. 21141) is amended by striking ‘‘and the 
United States Virgin Islands’’ and inserting ‘‘the United 
States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands’’. 
Æ 
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