Padilla, Peters, Durbin Lead Bill to Kill Trump’s Executive Order Restricting Vote By Mail, Presses USPS on Unconstitutional EO

WASHINGTON, D.C. - After leading the fight to defeat the SAVE Act in the Senate, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) is pressing forward to protect our elections by introducing the Absentee and Mail Voter Protection Act (Absentee MVP Act) with Senators Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) to block President Trump's illegal and unconstitutional executive order attacking mail and absentee ballots, and protect the right to vote by mail.

The Absentee MVP Act would nullify Trump's unlawful March 31 executive order (EO) that aims to illegally re-write federal election rules or any similar order and prohibit the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and any other agency from spending funds to implement actions in the President's unconstitutional executive order. At its core, the EO would give the USPS sweeping new authority to decide which voters may cast ballots by mail by ordering the USPS to reject and refuse delivery of lawful ballots unless states comply with newly established federal eligibility lists. Those who do not comply with these restrictions would face serious consequences: election officials, mail carriers, and others who send or deliver ballots to voters the administration considers ineligible could face criminal charges and states and local governments forfeit federal funding. To lay the groundwork for this override of existing state and federal voting laws, the order also tasks DHS with building state-by-state rosters of voting-age American citizens - drawn from federal data sources widely considered to be incomplete and unreliable.

"In a country founded on the ideals of 'We, the People,' in which the right to vote is fundamental to who we are as a nation - people shouldn't have to work too hard to have their voices heard and their votes are counted," said Senator Padilla. "Instead of focusing on lowering costs, ending the illegal war in Iran and bringing our troops home, and improving the lives of Americans across the country, too many Republicans in Congress are shamefully focused on making it more difficult for Americans to cast their ballots in November. Democrats are full court press on pushing back against these blatant attempts to silence the American people."

In addition to nullifying the EO, Padilla's legislation bars any similar EO and provides additional limits on Trump Administration attempts to implement the actions in the EO, including by:

• Blocking the Department of Justice (DOJ) and DHS from sharing state voter lists
• Defunding the DOJ's efforts to compel production of state voter lists
• Enforcing the Privacy Act by barring federal agencies from improperly sharing voter data, both within the government and with outside groups
• Defunding any future Commerce Department efforts to enact partisan regulation of mail in ballots

"President Trump is trying to illegally co-opt the Postal Service and the Department of Homeland Security so that he can pick and choose who gets to vote," said Senator Peters. "Our Constitution gives States and Congress the power to conduct elections, and vote-by-mail is a legal and proven part of our nation's electoral process. Every American must stand up to this illegal power grab as we fight to maintain our nation's core values."

"The right to vote is fundamental to our nation's democracy. But the President, time and time again, has attacked Americans' access to the ballot box, and his latest strategy is an executive order that targets mail-in voting," said Senator Durbin. "I'm joining Senator Padilla to introduce the Absentee MVP Act to protect Americans' right to vote from any presidential administration, including this one, that tries to interfere with absentee and mail-in ballots."

"The Constitution is clear. Elections belong to Congress and the states, not the President. You do not protect them by building federal lists out of flawed data," said Roman Palomares, LULAC National President and Board Chairman.

"President Trump was transparent when he issued an executive order clearly intended to disenfranchise a large bloc of voters from the voting rolls. By making it more difficult for voters to cast ballots, he hopes to increase the odds for Republican election victories. His anti-voting obstacle is unfair, un-American, and must be repealed. Public Citizen strongly supports Senator Padilla's legislation to do precisely that," said Lisa Gilbert, Co-President, Public Citizen.

"Every American deserves to have their voice heard and their vote counted. The Constitution gives States and Congress - not the President - authority over federal elections," said Andrew Warren, Deputy Legal Director of Democracy Defenders Action. "We commend Senator Padilla for his leadership in introducing the Absentee and Mail Voter Protection Act, and we urge Congress to pass this important legislation to prevent the President from interfering in our elections."

"No president - Trump or any to come - should be able to change the rules of an election in order to keep power and disenfranchise eligible voters. This bill pushes back on the Trump Administration's illegal executive order that attempts to do just that. It is a strong, forward-looking step to protect the integrity of our elections and ensure voters decide elections, not politicians," said Cole Leiter, Executive Director, Americans Against Government Censorship.

"For generations, service members have relied on mail and absentee ballots to exercise the rights they serve to defend. This legislation protects that lifeline and makes clear that no administration should be able to undermine access to the ballot for political gain. Our democracy is strongest when every eligible voter can participate without fear or interference," said Janessa Goldbeck, Marine Corps Veteran and CEO, Vet Voice Foundation.

"Vote by mail works so well it's how President Trump chose to vote this very year," said Common Cause's President & CEO Virginia Kase Solomón. "That's why President Trump's mail voting executive order is absurd. What this order is really designed to do is give him the power to handpick voters based on who supports his agenda in an effort to shield his party from accountability at the ballot box. Common Cause and our more than 1 million members urge Congress to pass Senator Padilla's Absentee MVP Act now so every voter can cast a ballot freely and fairly."

"NALC appreciates Sens. Peters, Padilla and Durbin's leadership in fighting to protect Americans' access to mail-in ballots," NALC President Brian L. Renfroe said. "Voting by mail is safe, secure and makes it easier for tens of millions of Americans to participate in our democracy. As this executive order is considered in the courts, NALC supports this legislation that focuses on protecting Americans' right to vote by mail."

The legislation is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Padilla also joined Peters, Durbin and 34 other senators in a letter to the USPS Board of Governors and Postmaster General David Steiner demanding that USPS follow the law and not implement President Trump's unlawful executive order.

"The Constitution provides no role for the President in regulating federal elections. And no statute delegates to the President any authority to regulate elections or voter eligibility either, including via USPS," the senators wrote. "Like the President, the Postal Service has no authority to regulate the manner of voting in federal elections, nor who is eligible to vote by mail in such elections. For over 250 years, the Postal Service has bound our country together with a constitutionally recognized mail service, and for 250 years, the American people have democratically elected their leaders. Any attempt to effectuate this order would violate the Constitution, break these bonds, and threaten the foundations of American democracy."

The Absentee MVP Act is available here.

Full text of the USPS letter is available here.

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