House Bill Would Require Tracking Barcodes on All Federal Mail-In Ballots by 2026
This bill is currently in the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. It has not had any recorded action since February 2026, which means it has been stalled for about five months. The committee must take further action before the bill can move forward to the full House.
This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.
Reintroduced
Reintroduced from H.R. 5658 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
H.R. 5658 (118th) →Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
The bill specifically exempts Federal write-in absentee ballots used by uniformed service members and overseas citizens under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. This means active-duty military members voting from overseas won't be affected by the new barcode requirements, which is important since they often use non-standard ballot envelopes that wouldn't easily comply with these rules.
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 43 - 1.
The committee approved this bill and is sending it to the full chamber for a vote. This is a significant step — most bills never get this far.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
In Congress, the House passed the Vote by Mail Tracking Act on November 18, 2024. The bill was then sent to the Senate on November 19, where it was read twice and then referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
It's not every day you see a bipartisan election reform bill pass the House, 396-6. The Vote by Mail Tracking Act would mandate that all mail-in ballots include a Postal Service barcode that ensures voters can track them after sending — something 47 states already offer.
The Vote by Mail Tracking Act would require any ballot sent to voters in a federal election to have a barcode on the envelope that allows the U.S. Postal Service to track each ballot. It would allow USPS to create envelope design standards with which municipal election offices must comply.
No votes recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Vote by Mail Tracking Act
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