Election Mail Act (H.R. 2987)
This bill requires post offices to process any federal election ballots as First-Class mail and postmarked with the receipt date. This bill adds provisions that require the Postmaster General to have yearly consultations with native tribes regarding barriers to voting on reservation lands and restricts post offices from implementing operational changes in the 120 days before an election.
Sponsor: Rep. Nikema Williams (Democrat, Georgia, District 5)
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How do you feel?
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Opponents say
• "As with Early In-Person Voting, the case has not been made that additional absentee voting actually will in itself result in a meaningful increase in voter turnout. There are also concerns that use of No-Excuse Absentee Ballots can too easily result in citizens losing their votes due to mistakes, and that they can be too easily compromised by those seeking to literally stuff the ballot box." Source: New York State Bar Association, Ballotpedia
• "Absentee ballots sent through the mail depend on the reliability of the US Postal Service. If absentee ballots are lost in the mail or delivered late, they won’t count. But even if they are received on time, such ballots might be disqualified because the voter forgot to sign the mailing envelope or because officials determine that the voter’s signature wasn’t a close enough match to the signature on file in the voter registration database." Warren Richey, Christian Science Monitor
Proponents say
• "Millions of Americans use mail-in voting because it is a simple, accessible way to make their voices heard. That’s why it’s critical that election mail is delivered and processed in a timely manner and that no voter has to pay for postage to cast a ballot" Source: Representative Amy Klobuchar (Democrat, Minnesota), News Release
• "All of these things are practices that the post office has long used for election mail, but it needs to have the force of law, and it needs to be fair for all voters," Source: Representative Zoe Lofgren (Democrat, California), Axios
