Continue to fight for legislation requiring verified reporting of certified numbers of mail-in ballots sent and received.

Ted Budd · North Carolina · Republican

policy impact 0.62 specificity 0.87 extraction confidence 93%

Commitment kind: unknown. Promised action: not established. Promised outcome: not established. Deadline: unknown; not assumed expired.

Contest this claim

Occurrences

Requiring verified reporting of certified numbers of mail-in ballots sent and received.

The candidate commits to support a reporting requirement for mail-in ballots.

Issues - Ted Budd for Senate
campaign · campaign_site · model gpt-5.4-mini

Evidence

unverified · Source version 14578 · locator unknown

Ted will continue to fight for legislation that protects the sanctity of one person, one vote, such as: Requiring verified reporting of certified numbers of mail-in ballots sent and received.

Unverified model/legacy excerpt; not proof. AI summary (separate from source): This is the campaign promise itself. It establishes the exact policy claim but does not show that it was enacted or even formally introduced as its own bill.

unresolved same_term

Safeguarding Elections | Ted Budd
campaign · model gpt-5.4-mini · confidence 97%

Contest this evidence item

unverified · Source version 14587 · locator unknown

Mr. LaMalfa (for himself, Mr. Budd, and Mr. Gibbs) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration. The bill establishes certain requirements with respect to a delivered ballot in an election for Federal office.

Unverified model/legacy excerpt; not proof. AI summary (separate from source): Budd was a cosponsor of legislation requiring ballots delivered by mail or otherwise to be received by election day, showing concrete election-ballot policy activity. But this is not the same as a verified reporting requirement for certified numbers of mail-in ballots sent and received, and the bill was only introduced and referred.

partial unknown A for effort

H.R. 8815 (116th Congress) Election Certainty Act
secondary · model gpt-5.4-mini · confidence 91%

Contest this evidence item

unverified · Source version 27594 · locator unknown

GovInfo lists H.R. 7265, the Vote by Mail Tracking Act, as introduced in the House on January 27, 2026 and referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The official entry names Kweisi Mfume as sponsor and does not list Ted Budd among the cosponsors.

Unverified model/legacy excerpt; not proof. AI summary (separate from source): A close-match mail-ballot tracking bill was introduced in 2026, but it was only referred to committee and shows no Budd sponsorship or cosponsorship.

never later_term

H.R. 7265 (IH) - Vote by Mail Tracking Act - BILLS-119hr7265ih | Content Details | GovInfo
primary · model gpt-5.4-mini · confidence 87%

Contest this evidence item

unverified · Source version 27595 · locator unknown

The official enrolled House-passed text for H.R. 5658 shows the Vote by Mail Tracking Act passed the House on November 18, 2024 and was sent to the Senate. The bill would require trackable ballot envelopes using Postal Service barcodes, but it was not enacted, and the record here does not show Ted Budd as a sponsor.

Unverified model/legacy excerpt; not proof. AI summary (separate from source): A related mail-ballot tracking bill advanced through the House but stopped short of enactment, with no Budd attribution in the official record.

never later_term

Vote by Mail Tracking Act
primary · model gpt-5.4-mini · confidence 84%

Contest this evidence item

unverified · Source version 63244 · locator unknown

SEC. 215. BARCODE TRACKING FOR MAIL-IN BALLOTS.

Unverified model/legacy excerpt; not proof. AI summary (separate from source): A 2026 House bill included a related mail-ballot tracking provision, but it was introduced by House members and does not show Budd sponsorship, enactment, or a certified sent/received reporting requirement.

unresolved later_term

H.R. 7300 (IH) - Make Elections Great Again Act
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 83%

Contest this evidence item

unverified · Source version 63244 · locator unknown

contains a Postal Service barcode (or successive service or marking) that enables tracking of each individual ballot

Unverified model/legacy excerpt; not proof. AI summary (separate from source): The bill text partly overlaps with mail-ballot tracking, but it does not establish Ted Budd delivered his promised legislation and was only an introduced House bill.

partial later_term

H.R. 7300 (IH) - Make Elections Great Again Act
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 82%

Contest this evidence item

verified · Source version 63246 · locator 9418

The Postal Service is amending the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual, regarding the transmission of mail-in or absentee ballots for federal elections pursuant to its rulemaking authority.

Fetched verbatim passage. AI summary (separate from source): USPS issued a final rule during the lookback window addressing federal mail/absentee ballot transmission, but this was agency rulemaking rather than Budd-enacted legislation.

partial later_term

Federal Register :: Ballot Mail for Federal Elections
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 86%

Contest this evidence item

unverified · Source version 63246 · locator unknown

the Postal Service will not take actions to implement the rule specifically for the 2026 election unless and until the government obtains relief from those injunctions.

Unverified model/legacy excerpt; not proof. AI summary (separate from source): Even the related USPS rule was not being implemented for the 2026 election while injunctions remained in place, undermining any claim of completed delivery.

unresolved later_term

Federal Register :: Ballot Mail for Federal Elections
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 89%

Contest this evidence item

verified · Source version 63248 · locator 3905

Application (26A305) for stay presented to Justice Jackson and by her referred to the Court is denied.

Fetched verbatim passage. AI summary (separate from source): Within the lookback window, the Supreme Court denied the government's emergency request to lift an injunction against the USPS ballot-mail rule, leaving the related policy blocked.

unresolved later_term

Docket for 26A305
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 93%

Contest this evidence item

verified · Source version 63248 · locator 4008

The Government is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge to the District Court's preliminary injunction.

Fetched verbatim passage. AI summary (separate from source): The Court's docket entry indicates the related rule remained legally blocked and was not a delivered legislative promise by Budd.

never later_term

Docket for 26A305
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 91%

Contest this evidence item

Assessments

Public state: unverified As of unknown · legacy_unverified · . Original AI recommendation (not independently established): never. later_term A for effort

The exact promise was not delivered: no evidence shows Ted Budd enacted or even directly introduced a bill requiring verified reporting of certified numbers of mail-in ballots sent and received. The closest documented activity is his cosponsorship of related election-ballot legislation, which was only introduced and referred, while later 2024 and 2026 close-match bills were sponsored by others and also stalled. This is best treated as a failed policy effort with some legislative work, not fulfillment.

provider codex_cli · model gpt-5.4-mini · confidence 88%

Public state: unverified As of unknown · legacy_unverified · . Original AI recommendation (not independently established): never. unknown A for effort

The promise was made in the 2022 federal Senate campaign and concerned continuing to fight for legislation requiring verified reporting of certified mail-in ballot numbers sent and received. The record shows Budd engaged in related federal election-ballot legislation, including cosponsoring the 2020 Election Certainty Act, but that bill addressed ballot receipt deadlines rather than the specific certified sent-and-received reporting requirement and did not pass. Later House legislation contained closer mail-ballot reporting language, but it was introduced by another member, had no Budd cosponsorship shown, no Senate companion tied to Budd, and also remained introduced rather than enacted. Because there is evidence of serious related legislative effort but no enacted or otherwise delivered policy outcome attributable to Budd, the proper rating is never with an effort badge.

provider codex_cli · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 82%