Sponsor
Laurel Lee
Representative · R-FL
The bill creates a clear, nationwide receipt deadline that simplifies election administration and reduces confusion, but increases the risk that timely‑mailed ballots delayed by the postal system will be discarded and shifts burdens and costs onto in‑person voting operations and state/local governments.
Voters nationwide face less confusion because absentee and mail ballots must be received by polls-closing time, creating a single, clear receipt deadline.
State and local election officials gain uniform enforcement standards, making administration simpler and reducing litigation over differing late‑arrival rules.
Voters who mail ballots on time but experience postal delays risk having their votes rejected, increasing the chance of disenfranchisement.
Local jurisdictions and voters may face heavier demand for in‑person voting on Election Day, causing longer lines and straining polling-place resources.
States and localities will incur costs to change procedures, update systems, and potentially defend compliance in litigation under the new federal deadline and HAVA enforcement.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires absentee and mail ballots for Federal elections to be received by poll closing time on Election Day to be counted, with a preserved exception for uniformed and overseas voters.
Representative · R-FL
Official title: To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require ballots in elections for Federal office to be received by the close of the polls on the date of election.
Introduced September 3, 2026 by Laurel Lee · Last progress September 3, 2026
Sets a single nationwide rule that absentee and mail-in ballots must be received by election officials no later than the time polls close on Election Day to be valid and counted in any Federal election, with a specific preserved exception for absent uniformed services and overseas voters. The rule applies to all Federal contests (primaries, runoffs, special, and general elections) for elections held in 2027 and after and adds the new HAVA provision to existing enforcement provisions. States are prohibited from counting or tabulating ballots received after polls close on Election Day, except for the separate earlier rules that continue to apply to uniformed and overseas voters. The bill makes corresponding technical changes to HAVA's table of contents and enforcement cross-references.