PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
Congressional Research Service
No official summary is available in the imported record yet.
People & committees
Rep. Lee, Laurel M. [R-FL-15] · R–FL
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Sep 22, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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Analyze H.R.10276 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-09-03 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This proposal would require ballots in federal elections, including mailed ballots, to reach election officials by the time polls close on Election Day. It would apply to elections held in 2027 and later. Certain military and overseas voters would be exempt from the stated deadline, but the text leaves uncertainty about how that exception interacts with a separate prohibition on accepting late ballots.
all ballots (including absentee and mail-in ballots) must be received by the appropriate election official no later than the time polls close on the date of the election
(c) Exception The deadline described in subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to ballots cast by absent uniformed services voter or overseas voters, as defined in section 107 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20310).
(b) Untimely ballot No State may accept for tabulation any ballot (including an absentee or mail-in ballot) that is received by the appropriate election official following the time polls close on the date of the election.
(d) Effective date This section shall apply with respect to elections for Federal office held in 2027 or any succeeding year.
Section 1 names the proposal the Ballots by Election Day Act.
1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Ballots by Election Day Act.
Section 2 would add a receipt deadline to the Help America Vote Act of 2002. It would cover federal primary, runoff, special, and general elections. For general elections, it ties the deadline to the election date established by the cited federal statute. The requirement concerns when officials receive a ballot, rather than when a voter mails it.
Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.) is amended—
To be considered validly cast and eligible to be counted in any election for Federal office, including a primary, runoff, or special election, all ballots (including absentee and mail-in ballots) must be received by the appropriate election official no later than the time polls close on the date of the election and, in the case of a general election for Federal office, no later than the time polls close on the date established under section 25 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (2 U.S.C. 7) for each general election for Federal office.
The proposed new subsection (b) would prohibit states from accepting ballots for counting when the appropriate election official receives them after polls close on Election Day. It expressly includes absentee and mail-in ballots.
(b) Untimely ballot No State may accept for tabulation any ballot (including an absentee or mail-in ballot) that is received by the appropriate election official following the time polls close on the date of the election.
The proposal expressly exempts ballots cast by absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters, as defined in the cited existing law, from subsection (a)'s deadline. The exception does not expressly refer to subsection (b)'s separate prohibition on accepting late ballots.
(c) Exception The deadline described in subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to ballots cast by absent uniformed services voter or overseas voters, as defined in section 107 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20310).
(b) Untimely ballot No State may accept for tabulation any ballot (including an absentee or mail-in ballot) that is received by the appropriate election official following the time polls close on the date of the election.
The new section would apply to federal elections held in 2027 and every succeeding year, with no specified end date.
(d) Effective date This section shall apply with respect to elections for Federal office held in 2027 or any succeeding year.
The bill would add new section 305 to an existing enforcement provision, renumber existing sections 305 and 306 as 306 and 307, and update the table of contents. The supplied text does not reproduce the existing enforcement provision's powers or procedures.
(b) Enforcement Section 401 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 2111) is amended by striking and 304 and inserting 304, and 305.
(1) by redesignating sections 305 and 306 as sections 306 and 307, respectively;
(c) Clerical amendment The table of contents of such Act is amended— (1) by redesignating the items relating to sections 305 and 306 as relating to sections 306 and 307, respectively; and (2) by inserting after the item relating to section 304 the following new item: Sec. 305. Deadline for receipt of ballots.
The supplied action snapshot, updated September 22, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on House Administration on September 3, 2026.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-22T18:51:05Z. 2026-09-03: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration. 2026-09-03: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-09-03. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not cover other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The supplied introduced text contains an express exemption from its main deadline for a defined group of voters. Its practical scope is uncertain.
Absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters, as defined in existing law, would receive an exemption from subsection (a)'s ballot receipt deadline. This is preferential treatment relative to the general deadline, directly related to the bill's main policy. The separate prohibition in subsection (b) does not expressly repeat the exception, so the text does not clearly establish that their late ballots could be counted.
all ballots (including absentee and mail-in ballots) must be received by the appropriate election official no later than the time polls close on the date of the election
(c) Exception The deadline described in subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to ballots cast by absent uniformed services voter or overseas voters, as defined in section 107 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20310).
(b) Untimely ballot No State may accept for tabulation any ballot (including an absentee or mail-in ballot) that is received by the appropriate election official following the time polls close on the date of the election.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 22, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI