,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #begf ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #ca1 #bjbe ,ms4 ,klobuchar introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,rules and ,administration ,a ,,bill ,to amend title #ci1 ,united ,states ,code1 and the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb to improve procedures and requirements related to election mail4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,election ,mail ,act4 #b4 ,same-day processing of absentee ballots 7a7 ,in general ,chapter #cd of title #ci1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #cdjg4 ,same-day processing of ballots 7a7 ,in general ,the ,postal ,service shall ensure1 to the maximum extent practicable1 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 office4 7b7 ,definitions ,as used in this section-- 7#a7 the term ballot means any ballot transmitted by a voter by mail in an election for ,federal office1 but does not include any ballot covered by section #cdjf2 and 7#b7 the term election for ,federal office means a general1 special1 primary1 or runoff election for the office of ,president or ,vice ,president1 or of ,senator or ,representative in1 or ,delegate or ,resident ,commissioner to1 the ,congress4 4 7b7 ,technical and conforming amendments 7#a7 ,chapter heading ,the heading for chapter #cd of title #ci1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by striking ,armed ,forces and ,free ,postage and inserting ,armed ,forces2 ,free ,postage2 ,election ,mail4 7#b7 ,table of chapters ,the table of chapters for part ,,iv of title #ci1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by striking the item relating to chapter #cd and inserting the following3 #cd4 ,armed ,forces2 ,free ,postage2 ,election ,mail #cdja 4 7#c7 ,table of sections ,the table of sections for chapter #cd of title #ci1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #cdjg4 ,same-day processing of ballots4 4 7c7 ,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 #fj days after the date of enactment of this ,act4 #c4 ,intelligent mail barcodes for ballots 7a7 ,in general ,title ,,iii of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajha7 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating section #caa and section #cab as sections #cba and #cbb1 respectively2 7#b7 by redesignating subtitle ,b as subtitle ,c2 and 7#c7 by inserting after subtitle ,a the following new subtitle3 ,b ,requirements relating to mailed ballots #caa4 ,use of intelligent mail barcodes 7a7 ,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 barcode1 as prescribed by the ,united ,states ,postal ,service4 7b7 ,exception ,subsection 7a7 shall not apply to any ballot for which a ,state or jurisdiction uses an alternative system that enables voters to track the ballot through the mail4 7c7 ,state ,for purposes of this section1 the term ,state includes the ,district of ,columbia1 the ,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico1 ,guam1 ,american ,samoa1 the ,united ,states ,virgin ,islands1 and the ,commonwealth of the ,northern ,mariana ,islands4 7d7 ,effective date ,the requirements of this section shall apply to elections for ,federal office occurring on or after ,january #a1 #bjbf4 4 7b7 ,enforcement ,section #dja of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #baaaa7 is amended by inserting or the requirements relating to mailed ballots under subtitle ,b of title ,,iii before the period at the end4 7c7 ,conforming amendment ,section #cba7;a7 of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #baaja71 as redesignated by subsection 7a71 is amended by striking section #cab and inserting section #cbb4 7d7 ,clerical amendments ,the table of contents of such ,act is amended-- 7#a7 by striking ,subtitle ,b--,voluntary and inserting ,subtitle ,c--,voluntary2 7#b7 by redesignating the items relating to sections #caa and #cab as relating to sections #cba and #cbb1 respectively2 and 7#c7 by inserting after the item relating to section #cje the following3 ,subtitle ,b--,requirements relating to mailed ballots ,sec4 #caa4 ,use of intelligent mail barcodes4 4 #d4 ,election mail and delivery improvements 7a7 ,postmark required for ballots 7#a7 ,in general ,chapter #cd of title #ci1 ,united ,states ,code1 as amended by section #b1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #cdjh4 ,postmark required for ballots 7a7 ,in general ,in the case of any absentee ballot carried by the ,postal ,service1 the ,postal ,service shall indicate on the ballot envelope1 using a postmark or otherwise-- 7#a7 the fact that the ballot was carried by the ,postal ,service2 and 7#b7 the date on which the ballot was mailed4 7b7 ,definitions ,as used in this section-- 7#a7 the term absentee ballot means any ballot transmitted by a voter by mail in an election for ,federal office1 but does not include any ballot covered by section #cdjf2 and 7#b7 the term election for ,federal office means a general1 special1 primary1 or runoff election for the office of ,president or ,vice ,president1 or of ,senator or ,representative in1 or ,delegate or ,resident ,commissioner to1 the ,congress4 4 7#b7 ,technical and conforming amendment ,the table of sections for chapter #cd of title #ci1 ,united ,states ,code1 as amended by section #b1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #cdjh4 ,postmark required for ballots4 4 7#c7 ,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 #fj days after the date of enactment of this ,act4 7b7 ,greater visibility for ballots 7#a7 ,in general ,subtitle ,c of title ,,iii of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajha et seq471 as added by section #c1 is amended by adding at the end the following new section3 #cab4 ,ballot visibility 7a7 ,in general ,each ,state or local election official shall-- 7#a7 affix ,tag #aia1 ,domestic and ,international ,mail-,in ,ballots 7or any successor tag designated by the ,united ,states ,postal ,service71 to any tray or sack of official ballots relating to an election for ,federal office that is destined for a domestic or international address2 7#b7 use the ,official ,election ,mail logo to designate official ballots relating to an election for ,federal office that is destined for a domestic or international address2 and 7#c7 if an intelligent mail barcode 7as described in section #caa7 is utilized for any official ballot relating to an election for ,federal office that is destined for a domestic or international address1 ensure the specific ballot service type identifier for such mail is visible4 7b7 ,effective date ,the requirements of this section shall apply to elections for ,federal office occurring on and after the date that is #fj days after the date of enactment of this section4 4 7#b7 ,issuance of voluntary guidance by election assistance commission ,section #cba7;b7 of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #baaja7;b771 as redesignated by section #c1 is amended-- 7,a7 by striking and at the end of paragraph 7#b72 7,b7 by striking the period at the end of paragraph 7#c7 and inserting 2 and2 and 7,c7 by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#d7 in the case of the recommendations with respect to section #cab1 the date described in section #cab7;b74 4 7#c7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents of such ,act1 as amended by section #c1 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #caa the following new item3 ,sec4 #cab4 ,ballot visibility4 4 #e4 ,carriage of election mail 7a7 ,treatment of election mail 7#a7 ,treatment as first-class mail2 free postage ,chapter #cd of title #ci1 ,united ,states ,code1 as amended by section #d7;a71 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #cdji4 ,domestic election mail2 restriction of operational changes prior to elections 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,election for ,federal office ,the term election for ,federal office means a general1 special1 primary1 or runoff election for the office of ,president or ,vice ,president1 or of ,senator or ,representative in1 or ,delegate or ,resident ,commissioner to1 the ,congress4 7#b7 ,election mail ,the term election mail means-- 7,a7 a blank or completed voter registration application form1 voter registration card1 or similar materials1 relating to an election for ,federal office2 7,b7 a blank or completed absentee and other mail-in ballot application form1 and a blank or completed absentee or other mail-in ballot1 relating to an election for ,federal office1 and 7,c7 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 vote4 7b7 ,carriage of election mail ,election mail 7other than balloting materials covered under section #cdjf 7relating to the ,uniformed and ,overseas ,absentee ,voting ,act771 individually or in bulk1 shall be carried in accordance with the service standards established for first-class mail under section #cfia4 7c7 ,no postage required for completed ballots ,completed absentee or other mail-in ballots 7other than balloting materials covered under section #cdjf 7relating to the ,uniformed and ,overseas ,absentee ,voting ,act77 shall be carried free of postage4 7d7 ,restriction of operational changes ,during the #abj-;day period that ends on the date of an election for ,federal office1 the ,postal ,service may not carry out any operational change that would restrict the prompt and reliable delivery of election mail4 ,this subsection applies to operational changes which include-- 7#a7 removing or eliminating any mail collection box without immediately replacing it2 and 7#b7 removing1 decommissioning1 or any other form of stopping the operation of mail sorting machines1 other than for routine maintenance4 7e7 ,election mail coordinator ,the ,postal ,service shall appoint an ,election ,mail ,coordinator at each area office and district office to facilitate relevant information sharing with ,state1 territorial1 local1 and ,tribal election officials in regards to the mailing of election mail4 4 7#b7 ,reimbursement of ,postal ,service for revenue forgone ,section #bdja7;c7 of title #ci1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by striking sections #cbag and #cdjc through #cdjf and inserting sections #cbag1 #cdjc through #cdjf1 and #cdji4 7b7 ,technical and conforming amendment ,the table of sections for chapter #cd of title #ci1 ,united ,states ,code1 as amended by section #d7;a71 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #cdji4 ,domestic election mail2 restriction of operational changes prior to elections4 4 7c7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall take effect upon the expiration of the #ahj-;day period that begins on the date of enactment of this section4 #f4 ,united ,states ,postal ,service consultation 7a7 ,in general ,the ,postmaster ,general shall consult with ,indian ,tribes1 on an annual basis1 regarding issues relating to the ,united ,states ,postal ,service that present barriers to voting for eligible voters living on ,indian lands4 7b7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this section-- 7#a7 ,indian lands ,the term ,indian lands means-- 7,a7 any ,indian country1 as such term is defined in section #aaea of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 of an ,indian ,tribe2 7,b7 any land in ,alaska that is owned1 pursuant to the ,alaska ,native ,claims ,settlement ,act 7#dc ,u4,s4,c4 #afja et seq471 by-- 7i7 an ,indian ,tribe that is a ,native village 7as such term is defined in section #c of such ,act 7#dc ,u4,s4,c4 #afjb772 or 7ii7 a ,village ,corporation 7as such term is defined in such section #c7 that is associated with an ,indian ,tribe described in clause 7i72 7,c7 any land on which the seat of government of an ,indian ,tribe is located2 and 7,d7 any land that is part or all of a ,tribal designated statistical area associated with an ,indian ,tribe1 or is part or all of an ,alaska ,native village statistical area associated with an ,indian ,tribe1 as defined by the ,bureau of the ,census for the purposes of the most recent decennial census4 7#b7 ,indian ,tribe ,the term ,indian ,tribe means the recognized governing body of any ,indian or ,alaska ,native ,tribe1 band1 nation1 pueblo1 village1 community1 component band1 or component reservation1 individually identified 7including parenthetically7 in the list published most recently pursuant to section #ajd of the ,federally ,recognized ,indian ,tribe ,list ,act of #aiid 7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #eaca74 #g4 ,uniform deadline for acceptance of mailed ballots 7a7 ,in general ,subtitle ,c of title ,,iii of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajha et seq471 as added by section #c and amended by section #d1 is amended by adding at the end the following new section3 #cac4 ,uniform deadline for acceptance of mailed ballots 7a7 ,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 ,federal 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-- 7#a7 the ballot is postmarked or otherwise indicated by the ,united ,states ,postal ,service to have been mailed on or before the date of the election2 and 7#b7 the ballot is received by the appropriate election official prior to the expiration of the #g-;day period which begins on the date of the election4 7b7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in this section 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 #g days after the date of the election4 7c7 ,effective date ,this section shall apply with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for ,federal office held in ,november #bjbf and each succeeding election for ,federal office4 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents of such ,act1 as amended by sections #c and #d1 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #cab the following new item3 ,sec4 #cac4 ,uniform deadline for acceptance of mailed ballots4 4