Election Mail Act
Official title: To amend title 39, United States Code, and the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to improve procedures and requirements related to election mail.
Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.
Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Election Mail Act
This bill addresses the delivery and processing of election mail for federal elections, including by establishing certain standards for mail-in ballots.
Specifically, the bill requires the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to
- ensure (to the maximum extent practicable) same-day processing of mail-in ballots,
- postmark each ballot,
- carry election mail (e.g., voter registration applications and mail-in ballots) as first-class mail that is free of postage,
- appoint an election mail coordinator at each area office and district office, and
- consult annually with Indian tribes regarding barriers to voting for eligible voters living on Indian lands.
The bill prohibits the USPS, within 120 days of a federal election, from making any operational change that would restrict the prompt and reliable delivery of election mail.
Each state and jurisdiction must provide with each mail-in ballot a return envelope with an intelligent mail barcode. This requirement does not apply to a state or jurisdiction that uses an alternative system that enables voters to track the ballot through the mail.
The bill requires election officials to count mail-in ballots that are postmarked by election day and arrive within seven days after the election.
- Introduced in House Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
- COMMON CAUSE
- COMMON CAUSE
- COMMON CAUSE
- COMMON CAUSE
- NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN
- CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER, INC.
Bodies those filers lobbied
- HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
- SENATE
- Election Assistance Commission (EAC)
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
- Justice, Dept of (DOJ)
- White House Office
- Education, Dept of
Cite this page
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 4915: Election Mail Act. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-4915/
"H.R. 4915: Election Mail Act." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-4915/.
H.R. 4915, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-4915/.
[H.R. 4915: Election Mail Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-4915/)