Sponsors (9)
The bill aims to strengthen ballot chain-of-custody and clarify federal support for state regulation of third-party ballot collection, but it may restrict community assistance and impose funding or cost pressures that reduce access for vulnerable voters and strain state/local election resources.
State and local election officials (and therefore all voters) face fewer third-party ballot collections, reducing chain-of-custody risks and strengthening confidence in federal election integrity.
Immediate caregivers, family/household members, election officials, and postal/carrier personnel may continue to assist in returning ballots, preserving access for seniors, people with disabilities, and others who need help.
Affirms federal support for states' authority to regulate ballot collection and creates an incentive for states to adopt uniform rules, which could standardize absentee procedures and clarify legal posture after relevant court decisions.
Voters who rely on community third-party collection—particularly seniors, people with disabilities, and residents of isolated or rural areas—may face reduced ability to return absentee ballots, risking disenfranchisement.
States that permit some forms of third-party ballot collection risk losing federal HAVA funding for federal election administration, potentially reducing resources for staffing, equipment, and election operations.
Smaller jurisdictions and local election offices could incur administrative, legal, and implementation costs to rewrite rules, update procedures, and provide alternative ballot-return options, increasing short-term expenses for taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Bars Federal HAVA funds for administering Federal elections in States that do not ban knowing third‑party collection/transmission of mailed ballots, with limited exceptions for officials, carriers, family/household, and caregivers.
Prohibits use of federal Help America Vote Act funds to administer federal elections in any State that does not have a law banning the knowing collection and transmission of a mailed ballot by third parties, while carving out exceptions for election officials, postal or commercial carriers, other authorized mail collectors, and family, household members, or caregivers of the voter. The bill adds a new provision to HAVA that conditions federal election funding on whether a State has a specified ban on third‑party ballot collection in effect.
Introduced February 4, 2026 by Chuck Edwards · Last progress February 4, 2026