Sponsor
Ashley Brooke Moody
Senator · R-FL
Senator · R-FL
The bill creates a single nationwide receipt deadline for mailed/absentee ballots that reduces disputes and simplifies administration but raises the risk of disenfranchising voters—especially in rural areas or those unable to pay for faster delivery—and increases burdens on local election offices.
Voters (those casting in-person or by mail) get a single clear rule that ballots received by poll-closing are valid, reducing post-election disputes and uncertainty about which ballots count.
State and local election officials have a uniform nationwide standard for when mailed/absentee ballots must be received, simplifying administration and legal interpretation across jurisdictions.
Voters who mail ballots via regular postal service—especially in rural or remote communities—risk disenfranchisement if delivery delays cause ballots to arrive after the strict cutoff.
Local election offices may face increased workload, potential legal challenges, and higher administrative costs to enforce strict receipt deadlines.
Mail-in and absentee voters who cannot or do not pay for expedited delivery may be forced to incur extra costs or risk having their ballots discarded.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires all Federal election ballots to be received by election officials by poll closing time to be valid; exempts uniformed services and overseas voters.
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 that all ballots for Federal office, including absentee and mail-in ballots, must be received by the appropriate election official by the time polls close on Election Day in order to be valid and counted. The rule bars states from counting ballots received after polls close, but exempts absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters as defined in federal law. Applies to Federal elections held in 2027 and later and makes technical updates to the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) table of contents and enforcement cross-references to reflect the new provision and renumbering of sections.