Election Integrity Mail Reform Act of 2023
This bill establishes certain requirements related to election mail. Election mail means any item mailed to or from an individual for purposes of the individual’s participation in an election for public office, including balloting materials, voter registration cards, absentee ballot applications, polling place notifications, and photographic voter identification materials.
Specifically, the bill requires the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to give priority to the processing and delivery of election mail. The USPS must (1) deliver any election mail regardless of the amount of postage paid, (2) process and clear election mail from any postal facility each day (to the greatest extent practicable), and (3) expeditiously carry and deliver election mail.
Additionally, the bill directs the USPS to place a marking or notice on election mail to indicate that the piece of mail is election mail.
The bill allows a national, state, or local committee of a political party that is eligible to mail at the nonprofit rate to conduct a cooperative mailing at that nonprofit rate with a candidate, a candidate’s committee, or another committee of a political party. The national, state, or local committee of a political party may seek reimbursement for the costs of such mailing.
The bill also imposes certain criminal penalties for (1) forging or counterfeiting any postmarking stamp or impression thereof with respect to a mailed ballot for a federal, state, or local election; or (2) falsifying the date on which a postmark is applied to a mailed ballot.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4476 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4476
To amend title 39, United States Code, to establish standards for the
processing and delivery of election mail, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 6, 2023
Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and in addition to
the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 39, United States Code, to establish standards for the
processing and delivery of election mail, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Election Integrity Mail Reform Act
of 2023''.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO ELECTION MAIL.
(a) Prioritizing Election Mail.--Title 39, United States Code, is
amended by adding after chapter 36 the following:
``CHAPTER 37--ELECTION AND POLITICAL MAIL
``Sec.
``3701. Prioritization of processing and delivery of election mail.
``3702. Use of nonprofit permit for cooperative mailings.
``3703. Marking or notice on election mail.
``3704. Application to Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting
Act.
``Sec. 3701. Prioritization of processing and delivery of election mail
``(a) In General.--The Postal Service shall give priority to the
processing and delivery of election mail. In carrying out this
subsection, the Postal Service shall at a minimum--
``(1) deliver any election mail regardless of the amount of
postage paid;
``(2) shall, to the greatest extent practicable, process
and clear election mail from any postal facility each day; and
``(3) carry and deliver election mail expeditiously.
``(b) Election Mail With Insufficient Postage.--In carrying out
subsection (a)(1), the Postal Service shall process and deliver
election mail with insufficient postage in the same manner as election
mail with sufficient postage, but may collect insufficient postage
after delivery of any election mail with insufficient postage.
``(c) Underfunded or Overdrawn Accounts.--The Postal Service shall
process and deliver election mail, under the standards in place under
subsection (a), sent from a customer using an account registered with
the Postal Service (including a corporate account or an advance deposit
account) even if such account is underfunded or overdrawn. Nothing in
this section shall be construed to limit or otherwise prevent the
Postal Service from seeking reimbursement from any person regarding
unpaid postage.
``(d) Election Mail Defined.--In this chapter, the term `election
mail' means any item mailed to or from an individual for purposes of
the individual's participation in an election for public office,
including balloting materials, voter registration cards, absentee
ballot applications, polling place notification and photographic voter
identification materials.
``Sec. 3702. Use of nonprofit permit for cooperative mailings
``Notwithstanding any other law, rule, or regulation, a national,
State, or local committee of a political party (as defined under the
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971) which is eligible to mail at the
nonprofit rate may conduct a cooperative mailing at that nonprofit rate
with a candidate, a candidate's committee, or another committee of a
political party, and may seek reimbursement from such a candidate,
candidate's committee, or committee of a political party for the costs
of such mailing.
``Sec. 3703. Marking or notice on election mail
``(a) In General.--For the purposes of assisting election officials
in processing election mail, the Postal Service shall place a marking
or notice indicating that a piece of mail is election mail.
``(b) Requirements.--The Postal Service may determine the
appropriate manner in which subsection (a) is carried out, but at a
minimum such marking or notice shall--
``(1) be placed, as soon as practicable, at the time the
election mail is received by the Postal Service, in a
conspicuous and legible type or in a common machine-readable
technology on the envelope or other cover in which the election
mail is mailed; and
``(2) clearly demonstrate the date and time that such
marking or notice was so placed.
``(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be
construed as requiring any change to the processes and procedures used
by the Postal Service with respect to Postal Service barcodes on
envelopes carried or delivered by the Postal Service.
``Sec. 3704. Application to Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee
Voting Act
``This chapter shall not apply to balloting materials under the
Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act and nothing in this
chapter shall be construed to alter or otherwise affect the operation
of such Act or section 3406 of this title.''.
(b) Postmarking Stamps.--Section 503 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``Whoever forges'' and inserting ``(a)
Whoever forges'';
(2) by striking ``or such impression thereof,'' and all
that follows and inserting the following:
``or such impression thereof--
``(1) shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not
more than five years, or both; or
``(2) if the impression from a postmarking stamp or
impression thereof forged, counterfeited, used, sold, or
possessed in violation of this section is applied to a mailed
ballot for an election for Federal, State, or local office,
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10
years, or both.''; and
(3) by adding at the end following new subsection:
``(a) Whoever, with the intent to falsify the date on which a
postmark was applied, applies to a mailed ballot described in
subsection (a)(2) a genuine postmark that bears a date other than the
date on which such postmark was applied, shall be subject to the
penalties set forth in such subsection.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
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