Sponsor
Ashley Brooke Moody
Senator · R-FL
Senator · R-FL
The bill creates a single, clear nationwide deadline for counting ballots that reduces disputes and eases cross-jurisdiction administration but raises the risk that mail-dependent voters—especially in rural or low-income areas—will be disenfranchised and increases administrative and legal burdens on local election officials.
Voters who cast ballots in person or by mail have a clear, uniform cutoff—ballots received by polls-closing count—reducing post-election disputes and uncertainty for taxpayers and voters.
State and local election officials get a single nationwide standard for when mailed/absentee ballots must be received, simplifying administration and reducing variation across jurisdictions.
Voters who rely on mail—particularly rural residents and lower-income people who cannot afford expedited shipping—risk disenfranchisement if their ballots arrive after polls close due to postal delays.
Local election offices may face higher administrative workload, increased costs, and legal challenges enforcing strict receipt deadlines, straining county and state resources.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires federal absentee and mail ballots to be received by the time polls close on Election Day to be counted, with a UOCAVA exception; effective 2027.
Official title: 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 July 15, 2026 by Ashley Brooke Moody · Last progress July 15, 2026
Requires all ballots for Federal office, including absentee and mail-in ballots, to be received by the appropriate election official by the time polls close on Election Day in order to be counted. The rule bars States from tabulating ballots received after polls close, but exempts absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters as defined under federal law. The requirement becomes effective for Federal elections held in 2027 and later and updates cross-references and the Help America Vote Act table of contents to insert the new provision.