I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4915 
To amend title 39, United States Code, and the Help America Vote Act 
of 2002 to improve procedures and requirements related to election mail. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 5, 2025 
Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia (for herself, Ms. ANSARI, Ms. BROWN, Mr. CARSON, 
Mr. CASTEN, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Ms. CLARKE of New York, 
Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. CRAIG, Ms. CROCKETT, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. DELUZIO, 
Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. ELFRETH, Mr. EVANS of Pennsylvania, Mr. FIELDS, 
Mr. FIGURES, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. JACKSON 
of Illinois, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Ms. KELLY 
of Illinois, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Mr. LYNCH, 
Ms. MCCLELLAN, Mrs. MCIVER, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. MFUME, Mr. MIN, Mr. 
MOULTON, Mr. MULLIN, Ms. NORTON, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mrs. RAMIREZ, 
Ms. SALINAS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. SEWELL, 
Ms. SIMON, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mrs. SYKES, Mr. THANEDAR, Mr. THOMP-
SON of Mississippi, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. TONKO, Mr. CASE, and Mrs. 
MCCLAIN DELANEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title 39, United States Code, and the Help Amer-
ica Vote Act of 2002 to improve procedures and require-
ments related to election mail. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Election Mail Act’’. 
SEC. 2. SAME-DAY PROCESSING OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 34 of title 39, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 3407. Same-day processing of ballots 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service shall ensure, 
to the maximum extent practicable, that any ballot carried 
by the Postal Service is processed by and cleared from 
any postal facility or post office on the same day that the 
ballot is received by that postal facility or post office. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘ballot’ means any ballot trans-
mitted by a voter by mail in an election for Federal 
office, but does not include any ballot covered 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.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) CHAPTER
HEADING.—The heading for 
chapter 34 of title 39, United States Code, is 
amended by striking ‘‘ARMED FORCES AND 
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FREE POSTAGE’’ and inserting ‘‘ARMED 
FORCES; FREE POSTAGE; ELECTION 
MAIL’’. 
(2) TABLE OF CHAPTERS.—The table of chap-
ters for part IV of title 39, United States Code, is 
amended by striking the item relating to chapter 34 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘34. Armed Forces; Free Postage; Election Mail .................. 3401’’. 
(3) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 
for chapter 34 of title 39, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘3407. Same-day processing of ballots.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this subsection shall apply to absentee ballots relating to 
an election for Federal office occurring on or after the 
date that is 60 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act. 
SEC. 3. INTELLIGENT MAIL BARCODES FOR BALLOTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating section 311 and section 
312 as sections 321 and 322, respectively; 
(2) by redesignating subtitle B as subtitle C; 
and 
(3) by inserting after subtitle A the following 
new subtitle: 
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‘‘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) STATE.—For purposes of this section, the term 
‘State’ includes the District of Columbia, the Common-
wealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the 
United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands. 
‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The requirements of this 
section shall apply to elections for Federal office occurring 
on or after January 1, 2026.’’. 
(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 relating to mailed ballots 
under subtitle B of title III’’ before the period at the end. 
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(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, as amended by section 2(c) of the COCOA 
Act of 2024, is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Subtitle B—Voluntary’’ and in-
serting ‘‘Subtitle C—Voluntary’’; 
(2) by redesignating the items relating to sec-
tions 311 and 312 as relating to sections 321 and 
322, respectively; and 
(3) by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 306 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— 
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‘‘(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 
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, 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 
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 
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