Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on America’s Streets Act

House Bill

H.R. 4476

119th Congress

Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on America’s Streets Act

In Committee

Introduced:Jul 17, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Stephen F. Lynch

Representative

Democratic

MA-8

Cosponsors

0

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Government Operations and Politics

Summary

This bill aims to improve the handling and delivery of election-related mail by the U.S. Postal Service. It requires the USPS to prioritize processing and delivering election mail, even if it has insufficient postage. The bill also allows political parties to conduct cooperative mailings at nonprofit rates and imposes criminal penalties for forging or falsifying postmarks on mailed ballots.

Latest Action

Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

SponsorStephen F. Lynch (D-MA)

Introduced7/17/2025

StatusReferred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for

ChamberHouse

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Vote Prediction

Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on America’s Streets Act

This bill aims to improve the handling and delivery of election-related mail by the U.S. Postal Service. It requires the USPS to prioritize processing and delivering election mail, even if it has insufficient postage. The bill also allows political parties to

Community Breakdown

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This bill aims to improve the handling and delivery of election-related mail by the U.S. Postal Service. It requires the USPS to prioritize processing and delivering election mail, even if it has insufficient postage. The bill also allows political parties to conduct cooperative mailings at nonprofit rates and imposes criminal penalties for forging or falsifying postmarks on mailed ballots.

Bill Number: 4476
Sponsor: Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA)
Introduced: 7/17/2025
Status: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for
Policy Area: Government Operations and Politics

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on America’s Streets Act
Bill Number: 4476
Sponsor: Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA)
Status: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for
Introduced: 7/17/2025
Summary: This bill aims to improve the handling and delivery of election-related mail by the U.S. Postal Service. It requires the USPS to prioritize processing and delivering election mail, even if it has insufficient postage. The bill also allows political parties to conduct cooperative mailings at nonprofi

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill aims to improve the handling and delivery of election-related mail by the U.S. Postal Service. It requires the USPS to prioritize processing and delivering election mail, even if it has insufficient postage. The bill also allows political parties to conduct cooperative mailings at nonprofit rates and imposes criminal penalties for forging or falsifying postmarks on mailed ballots.

Last updated: 12/30/2025

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Election Integrity Mail Reform Act of 2023This bill establishes certain requirements related to election mail. Election mail means any item mailed to or from an individual for purposes of the individual’s participation in an election for public office, including balloting materials, voter registration cards, absentee ballot applications, polling place notifications, and photographic voter identification materials.Specifically, the bill requires the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to give priority to the processing and delivery of election mail. The USPS must (1) deliver any election mail regardless of the amount of postage paid, (2) process and clear election mail from any postal facility each day (to the greatest extent practicable), and (3) expeditiously carry and deliver election mail.Additionally, the bill directs the USPS to place a marking or notice on election mail to indicate that the piece of mail is election mail.The bill allows a national, state, or local committee of a political party that is eligible to mail at the nonprofit rate to conduct a cooperative mailing at that nonprofit rate with a candidate, a candidate’s committee, or another committee of a political party. The national, state, or local committee of a political party may seek reimbursement for the costs of such mailing.The bill also imposes certain criminal penalties for (1) forging or counterfeiting any postmarking stamp or impression thereof with respect to a mailed ballot for a federal, state, or local election; or (2) falsifying the date on which a postmark is applied to a mailed ballot.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Requires the USPS to prioritize processing and delivering election mail, even with insufficient postage
Allows political parties to conduct cooperative mailings at nonprofit rates
Imposes criminal penalties for forging or falsifying postmarks on mailed ballots

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

If this bill becomes law, it would affect all voters who rely on the mail to participate in elections, as well as political parties and candidates. It could lead to faster and more reliable delivery of election-related materials, such as ballots and voter registration information. The increased penalties for postmark fraud could help protect the integrity of mail-in voting.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Government Operations and Politics

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

4476, 119th Congress (2025). "Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on America’s Streets Act". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-hr-4476

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