# 119-s-5355: Ballots by Election Day Act

119-s-5355, Ballots by Election Day Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK] (R-OK); status introduced (as of 2026-09-24).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5355
- As of: 2026-09-24
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-5355
- Congress: 119
- Title: Ballots by Election Day Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-08-06
- Sponsor: Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK] (R-OK)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-24

## Summary

**Uniform federal deadline for the receipt of mail-in and absentee ballots** would require ballots in federal elections to be received by the time polls close on election day to be counted. - Voters and households: Mail-in and absentee ballots for federal contests must arrive by polls close to count. Ballots received after polls close may not be tabulated. - Absent uniformed services and overseas voters: The bill expressly excepts voters covered by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. It also says states may keep laws that require those ballots to arrive by the date of the election. - States and election officials: The new receipt deadline would be added to the Help America Vote Act enforcement provisions and applies to federal elections held in 2027 and later. The provision creates no new federal funding.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] (R-UT), 2026-08-06T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- New federal deadline for mail ballots: mixed, high. This bill would require absentee and mail ballots in federal elections to be received by the time polls close on election day to be counted. For general federal elections, the deadline would align with the time polls close under 2 U.S.C. 7. The rule would not apply to absent uniformed services vote…

## Related bills

- 119-s-4952: Protecting American Taxpayers Act
- 119-s-62: America First Act
- 119-s-3077: Safer Supervision Act of 2025
- 119-s-3752: SAVE America Act
- 119-s-2907: Chloe Cole Act
- 119-s-1158: Working Families Flexibility Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-5355 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5355)

## Related
- [119-s-4952: Protecting American Taxpayers Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4952)
- [119-s-62: America First Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-62)
- [119-s-3077: Safer Supervision Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3077)
- [119-s-3752: SAVE America Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3752)
- [119-s-2907: Chloe Cole Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2907)
- [119-s-1158: Working Families Flexibility Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1158)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5355 (as of 2026-09-24).