[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 170 (Monday, November 18, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H6033-H6034]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VOTE BY MAIL TRACKING ACT
Mr. FRY. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 5658) to amend title 39, United States Code, to require mail-in
ballots to use the Postal Service barcode service, and for other
purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5658
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 ``Vote by Mail Tracking Act''.
SEC. 2. MAIL-IN BALLOTS AND POSTAL SERVICE BARCODE SERVICE.
(a) In General.--Title 39, United States Code, is amended
by inserting after chapter 30 the following new chapter:
``CHAPTER 31--ELECTION MAIL
``Sec.
``3101. Trackable election mail.
``Sec. 3101. Trackable election mail
``(a) In General.--No entity of government shall furnish a
ballot envelope for the purpose of being carried or delivered
by mail unless such envelope--
``(1) contains a Postal Service barcode (or successive
service or marking) that enables tracking of each individual
ballot consistent with parameters that the Postal Service may
promulgate by regulation;
``(2) satisfies requirements for ballot envelope design
that the Postal Service may promulgate by regulation;
``(3) satisfies requirements for machineable letters that
the Postal Service may promulgate by regulation; and
``(4) includes the Official Election Mail Logo (or any
successor label that the Postal Service may establish for
ballots).
``(b) Application.--Subsection (a) does not apply to a
Federal write-in absentee ballot under section 103 of the
Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52
U.S.C. 20303).
``(c) Information.--Not later than June 1 of each calendar
year, the Postmaster General shall provide, to the entities
described in the matter preceding paragraph (1) of subsection
(a), the information necessary to comply with the
requirements of this subsection, including how to access
Postal Service tools to assist in generating the barcode or
successive marking required by subsection (a)(1).''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of chapters for part IV
of title 39, United States Code, is amended by adding after
the item relating to chapter 30 the following:
``31. Election Mail.........................................3101''.....
(c) Application.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall apply to any election for Federal office occurring in
2026 and any succeeding year.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
South Carolina (Mr. Fry) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
Porter) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from South Carolina.
General Leave
Mr. FRY. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on this measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from South Carolina?
There was no objection.
Mr. FRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5658, the Vote by Mail
Tracking Act.
Every American citizen who votes deserves to know that their vote has
been counted and their voice has been heard.
This bill, the Vote by Mail Tracking Act, would ensure that this is
the case. H.R. 5658 requires that all ballots for Federal election
mailed within the United States to or from a voter contain a Postal
Service barcode. This barcode would allow voters to track the status of
their ballot in the United States Postal Service system, allowing
voters to know in real time when their
[[Page H6034]]
ballot is received by the Postal Service, when it is in transit, and
when it has arrived at their election authority.
Beyond a Postal Service barcode, under the bill, a ballot must meet
other requirements, including utilizing the Postal Service's envelope
design standards. Additionally, the ballot must include the official
election mail logo or any future logo the Postal Service establishes
for ballots.
While I encourage every citizen who wishes to vote in person on
election day to do so, many States have adopted vote-by-mail policies.
We must take the integrity of our elections serious and account for the
fact that a significant number of Americans choose to cast their
ballots by mail.
This bill is a commonsense, bipartisan response to a rising level of
mail-in voting nationwide and will put in place requirements to ensure
that the U.S. Postal Service can more efficiently handle and more
transparently track the mailed ballots of every American citizen.
I thank my colleagues, Representatives Porter, Donalds, and Mace, for
their work on this important legislation. I encourage all my colleagues
to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. PORTER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, regardless of party affiliation, every voting American
wants to be confident that their ballot will get processed. No matter
who we vote for, we all want our ballots to get smoothly to their final
destination on time to be counted.
After all, this desire applies to anything important that we want
processed. When was the last time anyone here sent a family heirloom
through the mail to their relative without getting a tracking number?
Who hasn't tracked an order of clothing or medicine at least once? I
don't know about you, but for me, it is comforting to know what city my
new shoes are in when they are being shipped so I know they are truly
on the way.
Ballots are so much more important than shoes. When something is
important to us, we all want to know it is in good hands, and our
ballots are no exception.
Fortunately, the United States Postal Service created a tracking
barcode for mail-in ballots, but unfortunately, right now, not everyone
gets to use ballot envelopes that meet the Postal Service design
requirements. That is why I joined Republican Representatives Byron
Donalds and Nancy Mace in introducing the Vote by Mail Tracking Act, to
fix that problem.
Under this nonpartisan bill, every ballot envelope will meet Postal
Service standards and get a tracking barcode. Voters of all political
stripes can have confidence that their ballot is accounted for along
the journey to our election officials.
This commonsense modernization can improve transparency and trust in
our elections for Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike. That
is exactly why this bill is led by 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats who
represent every major ideological caucus in the House. That includes
both Chairman Comer and Ranking Member Raskin, two people named Jamie
who couldn't be more different but both cosponsor this bill.
Madam Speaker, it just doesn't get more bipartisan than this bill.
These days, it can be hard enough just to get Democrats to agree with
Democrats and Republicans to agree with Republicans in this Congress,
let alone to have conservatives, moderates, progressives, and Members
somewhere in between all teaming up to back legislation. The Vote by
Mail Tracking Act has support from every corner of the House because it
is not partisan. It is just good policy.
If the shipment carrying Christmas presents that I order online is
trackable, then we should certainly all expect something as valuable
and as sacred as our ballots to be trackable, too.
This bill doesn't just make things more streamlined for the American
people; it also makes processing easier and more efficient for the
Postal Service, reducing its burden and making efficient use of
taxpayer dollars.
I thank all of my colleagues who cosponsored this legislation and
unanimously voted to advance it out of the Oversight Committee. I give
a special thank-you to Chairman Comer, Ranking Member Raskin, and their
staff for their work on this bill.
The Vote by Mail Tracking Act is truly a reflection that it is still
possible, even in this political moment, to find consensus in
Washington and come together on real solutions. I urge every single
Member of this body to support it.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1615
Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers. I urge the passage of H.R.
5658, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. FRY. Madam Speaker, I encourage my House colleagues to support
this bipartisan, commonsense bill that will help further build trust in
American Federal elections in the future, and I yield back the balance
of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Fry) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5658, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. FRY. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
____________________